What is FarFetch Company Website, Is It Legit Selling Real Products?

The e-commerce platform known as FarFetch was developed with the intention of bringing together customers, creators, and boutiques from all over the world. The website caters mostly to individuals who have an interest in fashion, as its primary focus is on luxury fashion items, the prices of which can be rather high.

Is FarFetch legit? Everyone has enough reasons and rights to know it before making purchase from FarFetch company website, and if so, how legit they are, whether you will receive a genuine item or just a decent copy before you spend a considerable amount of money for a new outfit? You also have the right to know whether you will receive a real product or just a good copy. In this article, we will walk you through all there is to know about FarFetch website and it’s functions.

What Is Farfetch Company?

Farfetch is an online portal for luxury fashion. The company does not own the inventory it sells, but collaborates with manufacturers and retailers to distribute their products.

Farfetch provides products from around a thousand luxury brands, such as Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Prada, and many others.

Shoppers can peruse numerous categories, including apparel (shirts, jeans, etc.), footwear, and accessories such as handbags and watches.

In addition to its online stores, Farfetch also has physical stores that customers can visit. These stores provide a limited amount of things for users to try on and purchase.

Products on the Farfetch platform are either directly fulfilled and distributed by Farfetch or by one of its numerous (online) boutique partners.

The boutiques on Farfetch are subjected to a thorough verification process to ensure the legitimacy and quality of the products they sell.

Farfetch is accessible in over 190 countries worldwide. Users can shop on its website and via its mobile application (available on Android and iOS devices).

Farfetch Company Background

José Neves created Farfetch in 2007 and remains its CEO. Neves, born in the 1970s in Porto, Portugal, has been interested with computers his whole life.

Neves studied economics at the University of Porto despite loving computer science. While in college, he developed software for dentists.

He met Portuguese internet entrepreneur Cipriano Sousa. Together, they designed software for Porto’s shoe factory. Neves was inspired by his grandfather, who owned a shoe factory nearly his whole life.
He convinced a local shoemaker to teach him how to sew shoes.

Neves moved to London at 22 to start his own shoe brand, Swear. Neves established a Smart website in 1997.

In 2001, he opened B Store in London’s Savile Row to showcase new designers.

B Store received Retailer of the Year in 2006. As a shop owner, he discovered non-popular brands. This inspired him to start Farfetch.

In 2007, he worked on Farfetch with Sousa (currently the company’s CTO). In October 2008, during Paris Fashion Week, Farfetch debuted.

Launched with 25 stores and 4000 goods. Lehman Brothers fell two weeks after the unveiling, triggering one of the world’s worst financial crises.

Neves had to borrow money for his other firms (Swear and B Store) to fund Farfetch. Leading designer brands disliked eCommerce because it tainted the brand experience.

The brands told boutiques to cease selling on Farfetch or they wouldn’t sell them merchandise. Neves told Robb Report, “I jumped on a plane to Paris and Milan, begging them to let us survive.”

Advent Venture Partners provided $4.5 million in July 2010. Farfetch added more funding over time. Due to its aggregator strategy, it soon expanded into new countries and continents.

Farfetch launched Farfetch Black & White in September 2015 after reaching $1 billion in valuation. This Shopify-like solution let Manolo Blahnik set up an internet store.
Neves announced the Store of the Future in March 2017; it uses user data to create personalized recommendations. Farfetch acquired Browns two years before launching this concept.

Farfetch bought $100 million for Condé Nast’s Style.com in June 2017. (publisher of Vogue and GQ). Acquiring Style’s user base aided the company’s US expansion.

In February 2019, Farfetch started on JD.com.

The company grew in 2018. Burberry and Chanel (which avoided retailing online) established collaborations, with Chanel acquiring a minority investment in the company.

These cooperation announcements were crucial for investors. Months of IPO rumors circulated. The company went public on Nasdaq in August 2018. (under the ticker symbol FTCH).

Neves realized in 2019 that being public means more scrutiny. After two significant purchases, Stadium Goods for $250 million and New Guards (which holds licenses for Off-White and Palm Angels) for $675 million, investors worried Farfetch would abandon its marketplace approach, which has higher profits.

In 2020, Farfetch recovered. The unique coronavirus pushed customers to shop online, sending the company’s stock to new highs. China was a growth opportunity. Farfetch created Fafaqi, which means “discover marvel.”

Alibaba and Richemont invested $300 million each in Farfetch Limited and $250 million each in Farfetch China. Farfetch ended its agreement with JD.com and created new channels on Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion, Luxury Soho, and Tmall Global.

At present in 2022, Farfetch is a leading luxury shop. It has 5,000 employees and 2 million regular customers.

Are the Items on FarFetch Real?

All products listed on FarFetch are authentic and from genuine suppliers/brands. Additionally, the platform has extremely stringent requirements for the companies it works with. Because it collaborates exclusively with reputable manufacturers, you can rest assured that the goods you purchase will be of the highest standard.

It’s not possible for every store to become a FarFetch partner. They are required to perform to a high standard in a variety of areas, including the quality of the clothing, safety, and promptness. When you see that a particular boutique has become a partner of FarFetch, you can be assured that it adheres to the highest standards of professionalism and can be relied upon.

When you buy a Gucci dress from FarFetch, you will receive the exact same dress that you would receive if you went into the Gucci store in the heart of Rome. You save some time for yourself, as well as the money that you would have spent on aircraft tickets.

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FarFetch’s Working Model

On their website, you can locate their company number and London location. Over 10 nations, including the US, have offices. FarFetch has no physical store. It connects you to partner stores and designers. All FarFetch products are in boutiques or creators’ storages globally.

You’re buying from a designer or boutique when you buy from FarFetch. Direct store shipping is used. FarFetch can’t manage the shipping procedure, but it has strong safety criteria to verify its partners.

Balenciaga, Versace, and Prada are among FarFetch’s partners. In 2007, the UK platform had 25 partner stores. Over time, it gained 700 global partners.

200 direct brands and boutiques work with FarFetch. If they weren’t trustworthy, huge brands wouldn’t work with them.

How Does FarFetch Make Money?

FarFetch derives money from commissions, fulfillment services, a white-label software solution, and in-store and online sales.

Let’s check it all here.

Commissions

When brands and boutiques sell on FarFetch, they pay commissions. Contracts between partners and FarFetch govern these commissions. Probably 25 to 32%.

Larger companies like Burberry or Gucci may have cheaper commissions due to negotiating leverage.

FarFetch is a marketplace. It works as an aggregator, holding essentially minimal inventory (only through purchased brands and retail concepts).

Fulfillment

As part of its marketplace strategy, FarFetch provides numerous fulfillment services to its partner brands and boutiques. Included in fulfillment services are products storage (= warehousing), item delivery, and returns management.

This resembles other marketplace organizations that have incorporated their own fulfillment services. In the fashion business, examples are StockX and Poshmark.

Similar to its marketplace commissions, FarFetch takes a cut of the sale price as a percentage. It is estimated that this is about 8 %.

White-Label Solution

Farfetch Platform Solutions (formerly Black & White) offers white-label SaaS for premium apparel manufacturers and retailers.

Unknown pricing. Like any other white-label solution, it likely includes a fixed price (for app and website development, among other things) and a revenue-sharing arrangement (i.e. FarFetch receives a percentage of the revenue that the store generates).

In-store & online

FarFetch has bought a number of physical fashion retail enterprises. Browns, Stadium Goods, New Guards are examples.

Like every retail store, FarFetch sells things (which are either happening in-store or online). The income must be decreased by the cost of goods sold, which includes product purchases, store rent, and personnel wages.

Wholesaling

As part of its acquisition of New Guards, FarFetch inherited a number of established premium fashion companies. Off-White, Heron Preston, Alanui, and a few others are included.

Consequently, these brands are sold in a range of boutiques, retail, and online stores via wholesale distribution. FarFetch derives revenue by selling these products to other businesses in bulk.

Vertical manufacturing and distribution is a method used by ASOS and Zalando.

Especially in the luxury market that FarFetch serves, margins are typically greater. Additionally, the platform’s traffic can be utilized to improve sales volumes.

FarFetch Return Policy

The best part about FarFetch is that you have a significantly greater chance of obtaining the desired item in your specified size and color than you would in a real store. However, there is always a degree of uncertainty regarding whether the thing you purchase will fit you or not when you shop online.

Even though you chose your size, the item may not seem as you anticipated. Again, this does not indicate that the product is defective. It implies that photographs can sometimes be deceptive.

FarFetch allows you to return your product within 14 days after delivery for a full refund. The return policy is another evidence that the website is legitimate. Note that this indicates that the item must be returned to the retailer by that date. Therefore, it is advised that you try on your clothes as soon as they arrive, allowing you ample opportunity to return them if you don’t like them.

Conclusion

In a sea of e-commerce platforms, it might be difficult to find one you can rely on. FarFetch is a viable option. It features trustworthy business partners and a solid return policy.

Have you utilized FarFetch before? How familiar are you with this platform? Would you suggest this to others? Feel free to express your thoughts in the box for comments below.