Eluxury.com to Cease Selling Luxury Goods
Posted on January 9, 2009
eLuxury.com, an online store owned by Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), plans to stop selling luxury goods, which is a huge shocker because selling luxury goods is what eLuxury does.
The company will begin shutting down its retail operations reports WWD. The online store carried designer apparel, fashion accessories, beauty products and shoes. They also offered an exclusive online Louis Vuitton boutique.
A spokeswoman at LVMH told WWD, "Starting in mid 2009, eLuxury's new mission will be to create an 'e-window' into the world of luxury, by serving as an information reference for luxury in fashion, art de vivre, leather goods, wines and spirits, watches and jewelry, gastronomy, cars, yachts and services. To that end, eLuxury intends to develop collaborations with the most prestigious names in the world of luxury media, as well as the main contributors of the luxury world."
eLuxury.com has been selling luxury goods online since June, 2000. Sucharita Mulpuru, an ecommerce analyst for Forrester Research, told WWD that she was surprised eLuxury.com is gong to end its retail operations. She said, "Anyone who isn't strong in this environment is especially vulnerable and will not survive but I really didn't see this one coming."
The website will no longer sell luxury goods by the end of June and will slowly transition into an online luxury magazine. It seems like an odd move for a luxury goods manufacturer to spend money and resources towards producing an online magazine but Dolce & Gabbana recently started doing something similar with an online magazine called Swide.
Update 8-12-2022: The online retailer is now selling mattress pads, bed frames and more. The company is now owned by Culp Inc. according to Inside Indiana Business.