Versace Looks To E-Commerce To Foster Brand Recognition and Sales

Italian fashion company Versace has chosen its own way to address consumers’ increasing demand and is making its products available for online purchase in Europe.

The Versace.com website is intended to give a boost to the brand in the digital world and is already available in Italy, the UK, Germany and France. Consumers in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Austria, and also in the US, will be able to buy clothing, fragrances and accessories online from October.

Versace, the first major luxury retailer to have all its products available for online purchase, will now be able to expand its sales without the need to open physical outlets. In order to ensure that the online version matches the experience customers would have in bricks-and-mortar stores, the brand will take full control of the website’s design, marketing and sales strategies and merchandising practices.

The move fits in with the retailer’s push to boost brand perception and beef up direct communication with both existing and new customers in cyberspace and on social media platforms. It will be followed by the roll-out of a number of microsites and apps in the near term.

The e-commerce website has some of the intrinsic features of Versace’s in-store concept, in particular the mosaic background pattern and graphic components such as circles, squares and bold colours. The aim of the website’s design is to blend “state-of-the-art technology” with Donatella Versace’s personal touch and her own interpretation of rock aesthetic and spirit.