Dive Brief:

• U.K.-based department store Harrods will create a new e-commerce platform using an enterprise white-label offering from online marketplace enabler Farfetch, according to a Farfetch press release.

• The retailer will leverage Farfetch Black & White Solutions for e-commerce management, operations support, international logistics support and technical support, while Harrods will continue to manage marketing, brand relationship and product strategy, creative and editorial content, and customer services for the site.

• Farfetch is scheduled to report its fourth quarter 2019 earnings Thursday, and the announcement earlier this week helped drive its share price up more than 9% at one point, according to a Bloomberg report.

Dive Insight:

Harrods is looking to one of the hottest names in luxury e-commerce for help relaunching its online efforts, a move that comes as nearly every major department store operator is trying to transform both its brick-and-mortar and online businesses. Teaming with small, innovative companies can be key to that, as Macy’s demonstrated in aligning with b8ta, a company sometimes mentioned in the same breath as Farfetch.

For now, it remains to be seen what features the new Harrod’s online shopping experience will include, but Farfetch has created innovative services for other partners, such as its 90-minute delivery feature for Gucci in 2017. 

All the excitement around Farfetch led to investor exuberant interest in the company’s shares after its IPO last September. There also was some criticism at the time that the firm’s $20-per-share price was a bit too high. In the months that followed, Farfetch’s stock value declined, finally falling under its debut level in mid-December.