Alibaba, Richemont to invest $1.1 billion in Farfetch with focus on China

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Swiss group Richemont will invest $1.1 billion in online luxury fashion retailer Farfetch Ltd and its new marketplace in China, as online demand for luxury goods booms in the Asian country.

Alibaba said on Thursday it would launch Farfetch shopping channels on its e-commerce sites Tmall Luxury Pavilion and Luxury Soho, while also investing in newly formed Farfetch China along with Richemont.

Meanwhile, Farfetch will cease operations with JD.com , after receiving the investment from Alibaba and Richemont, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

JD.com and Farfetch reached a strategic partnership in 2017 that saw JD.com invest $397 million in Farfetch. Farfetch merged its China sales platform with JD.com’s in 2019 and its store on the Chinese platform is currently still operational.