Amazon Launches VRSNL Luxury Online Store

The brands represented include Rick Owens, Marni, Balmain, Versace as well as Rag & Bone and Adidas Special Collections.

Since autumn 2019, online giant Amazon has run VRSNL (pronounced "versional"), an online store specializing in luxury fashion brands. The site was launched back in September, without any advertising or marketing support. The platform managed by Zappas, a company controlled by Amazon. 

Unlike many other online stores that primarily sell luxury brands of first magnitude clothing and footwear, VRSNL presents a rather complex mix of styles and directions. The portfolio of the online platform coexists luxury brands, modern fashion designers, and streetwear brands. Among the brands represented in the online store are Rick Owens, Marni, Balmain, Versace, as well as Bottega Veneta, Jimmy Choo, Rag & Bone, and Adidas Special Collections.

"A style is driven by individuality and a 'do it yourself' approach. It based on the American contribution to global style - a combination of expensive and cheap, street, and luxury. It's a remix of a modern view of fashion where everything is real, and the old rules don't apply. It's how we dress. For real-life... It's about finding the things you love," that's how the authors describe the concept of the store. 

Amazon has been looking at the designer fashion market for a long time. Still, the basic marketplace model, with its simple design and the presence of many third-party vendors, does not allow the Internet giant to build partnerships with high-end brands. 

To date, Amazon has not publicly recognized its ownership of the VRSNL website and has not reported on any luxury fashion retail projects. However, digital excellence built into the online store can be attractive to brands that want to get to know their customers better and buy them. VRSNL benefits from Amazon's capabilities, providing its customers in the U.S. with free shipping to any location within two days of ordering, as well as 1-day express delivery for $15. The online store uses responsible packaging for all its orders. 

To date, none of the LVMH brands represented on the VRSNL platform. But another luxury giant - Kering Group - obviously has a different position on cooperation with Amazon. Customers of the new online store already have the opportunity to buy items from the collections of Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, and Gucci. Market participants believe that VRSNL is not a short-term project, but a platform with excellent prospects on which Amazon has high hopes. In the future, when global brands will feel the impact of selling their products on VRSNL against the backdrop of ever-growing audience coverage, Amazon can confirm its direct ownership of the site.

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