Farfetch updates brand identity; launches new ‘Open Doors’ digital campaign

The British-Portuguese online luxury retail platform, Farfetch, has had a breakout year in 2020 – the lockdowns and the fact that people were compelled to resort to e-commerce worked to its advantage.

For Q2 2020, Farfetch recorded a gross merchandise value of $721m. Its revenue too grew a whopping 74 per cent to $364m.

More importantly though, as José Neves, founder, chairman and CEO of Farfetch said, the platform attracted over half a million new customers – its highest ever.

Capitalising on that momentum, it has unveiled a new brand identity on Wednesday, September 15.

It partnered with Munich-based design studio Bureau Borsche to design the new identity which features new typography fonts and the bespoke monogram – the ‘Farfetch Fuse’.

The updates will also apply to a refreshed look across its website, mobile app and social media channels.

Explaining the reasons behind the new brand identity, Holli Rogers, chief brand officer at Farfetch said: “Faretch is now in its second chapter as a company, partnering with the world’s best designers and stores and we need an identity that reflects that.”

Alongside unveiling the new brand identity, the New York Stock Exchange listed company has also launched an ‘Open Doors to a World of Fashion’ campaign.

For the very first time, Farfetch will resort to TV to push out this new campaign.

In addition, it will also be splashed out across Out of Home (OOH), print, social and online channels and will also promote the new Fuse monogram across New York, Shanghai, London and in specific markets in the Middle East.

“Farfetch lives at the intersection of two worlds – fashion and technology. These worlds were already merging before the global pandemic, but the move to online is accelerating. Through this campaign, we bring our own highly distinctive global community together, opening doors to a network of like-minded souls: breaking boundaries, bypassing borders – opening to fashion and fashion lovers everywhere,” said Rogers.

Read: Exclusive interview: José Neves, founder and CEO of Farfetch

The campaign will be fronted by a diverse group including Broadway playwright and actor Jeremy O. Harris, environmentalist Wilson Oryema, Chinese actress Angelababy and British artist and model Kesewa Aboah.

The social media push for the campaign will be via Snapchat Portal Lens, where people can ‘visit’ iconic boutiques around the world; a TikTok challenge, a new YouTube channel.

“Lockdown has significantly accelerated the shift of luxury fashion sales online. This consumer behaviour transition is driving boutiques, brands and department stores to fast track their digital strategies and make greater use of the Farfetch platform to meet luxury fashion shoppers. As such, this is the ideal time for us to be launching the ‘Open Doors to a World of Fashion’ campaign which celebrates inclusivity, optimism and togetherness and exemplifies the truly global nature of our business and our customer,” Neves told Gulf Business.

Farfetch entered the UAE market in 2018 by partnering with Dubai-based Chalhoub Group.

The Middle East in general and the UAE in specific has seen a spurt of activity recently around fashion e-commerce.

Earlier this week, Bloomingdale’s Middle East launched new its e-commerce platform and that will offer deliveries in three countries within the region: UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In the UAE, Bloomingdale’s is also offering customers the option for same-day delivery.

Read: Bloomingdale’s opens online store for deliveries in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait

Also, Italian company Max Mara and British e-retailer Boohoo too have announced new online platforms for customers in the Middle East.

Read: Max Mara, Boohoo launch new e-commerce platforms for the Middle East