A New Dior Opens: French Fashion House Launches Australian Online Store

This dedicated e-commerce platform features womenswear, menswear, and jewellery, as well as Dior Maison, showcasing homewares, exclusively online.

Dior has previously sold its fragrances and cosmetics via boutiques in department stores like Myer and David Jones. With four stores in Australia, this is the first online platform the designer is launching in Australia.

This is a big deal for the luxury fashion market. Typically, luxury retailers – Think: Chanel – have famously hidden from the e-commerce potential. Unlike traditional categories of retail, luxury has developed an iron-clad brand image, with dedicated followers and a reputation that has spanned over decades of trading.

via Dior

There’s a reason for this stubborn nature towards e-commerce; it’s a significant element of the overall business strategy. The ’boutique experience’ is one of the characteristics synonymous with luxury fashion houses, such as Hermès, Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton. With deep and rich histories within each brand’s image and marketing, leaning into exclusivity comes with the territory.

Designers such as Hermès, Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton certainly aren’t cheap. In fact, their prices are increasing. With this in mind, the core demographic for the brands are those who may not have felt the impact of the pandemic to such a degree as the general public. As such, they don’t feel the need to dive into e-commerce to earn further sales.

In its Annual Report of 2020, Dior indicated it would be expanding its online presence within its Fashion and Leather Goods, in an effort to broaden its reach to consumers at home. “Group’s Maisons are focused on the creativity of their collections, building on their iconic, timeless lines, achieving excellence in their retail networks and strengthening their online presence, while maintaining their identity.”

As mentioned earlier, the importance of the retailer’s brand image is as crucial as the designs on the runway. Its ‘selective’ retailing strategy creates synergy between its high-end product range and overall shopping experience. “From elegant interior design to a specialist selection of high‑end products and services, combined with personalised relationships, customers are the focus of their attention on a daily
basis,” the Group shared in its Annual Report.

via Dior

In 2020, Dior’s revenue took a dip from the year before. Despite this, the brand has experienced ‘outstanding’ growth in all product categories in its FY21 results. Its parent company, LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey) reported stronger growth in revenue compared to both H1 FY20 and H1 FY19, up 81 percent and 38 percent, respectively.

“The Group will continue to pursue its strategy focused on developing its brands by building on strong innovation and investments, as well as a constant quest for quality in their products and their distribution,’ shared the Group in a statement.

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