They say the Web dilutes exclusivity, but Burberry, Oscar de la Renta and others are starting to embrace it.
For a sector as forward-thinking as the fashion industry, the reluctance with which it has ventured into e-commerce and other digital platforms--particularly social media--is more than a little perplexing.
The affinity for traditional commerce and marketing channels is strong among many purveyors of luxury goods, both in the fashion sector and elsewhere. In an international survey of 178 premium and luxury firms in 2008, Forrester Research ( FORR - news - people ) found that only one-third of them actively sold online, though 8 out of every 10 affluent consumers use the Internet to actively research and purchase luxury goods and services on a daily basis.
That number has risen significantly, but it is still strikingly low. Federico Marchetti, founder and chief executive of Italian retailer Yoox, estimates that half of luxury brands now sell directly online, though several others suggest that the percentage is higher, due largely to recession pressures.
Yet many brands, particularly European manufacturers of high-end wristwatches and other luxury goods, refuse to set up shop online.
From Store to Web: The Challenges of E-Commerce
"We have an exclusive network of over 400 retailers but that cannot work online," Jean-Claude Biver, chief executive of Hublot, said at Reuters Global Luxury Summit last summer. "When you are online, you are not exclusive anymore."
Other firms say that e-commerce is not an option because the shopping experience their brands provide cannot be successfully translated for the Web.
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