Milan With the outlook for many fashion e-commerce specialists such as Farfetch and Matches (the latter is scaling back its website operations this week) uncertain, Italy's Giglio.com is betting that a small but successful Trojan horse can win the digital war.
The luxury online retailer, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange's AIM Italy program for small and medium-sized enterprises, said on Wednesday it was introducing a new B2B division that would offer digitalisation services.
Digital Gateway is a new division of Giglio.com that leverages its 20+ years of experience running fashion multi-brand e-stores to provide business clients with services aimed at enhancing their digital capabilities.
“The evolution of our business model to B2B feels like a natural progression in today's environment, which increasingly demands expertise and tools that will have a profound impact on companies' digitalization processes,” said Giuseppe Giglio, President and CEO of Giglio.com.
“Digital Gateway meets these needs with best-in-class skills developed over Giglio.com's years of experience, which has been key to our success,” he added.
The move can also be seen as a way for Giglio.com to diversify its business. The company reported a 10% increase in sales to €56.3 million in 2023 and an adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of €0.2 million, a 3 percentage point increase over the two-year period, improving profitability.
Digital Gateway's services include the Photography Hub, which leverages Giglio.com's 20 photography studios and dedicated team to create e-commerce product catalogues for clients and brands, the Creative Hub, a studio that develops custom editorial campaigns and marketing assets, the Marketing Hub, which helps brands execute high return on investment and technology-enabled marketing strategies, and the Technology Hub, which helps clients design their websites and technical infrastructure using Giglio.com's proprietary technology.
Giglio.com was founded in 1996 and acts as a marketplace with around 200 brick-and-mortar store partners, mainly based in Italy but also in France, Spain and elsewhere.
Giglio.com is expanding into the home and interiors space.
Provided by Giglio.com
As reported, Giglio.com partnered with Vestiaire Collective last year to enter the secondhand market and introduced design and lifestyle sections, two of which have contributed to an increase in total merchandise value. The company also opened a 75,347-square-foot state-of-the-art complex in Palermo, Italy, dedicated to logistics operations and product photography.
In addition to the Giglio.com business, the Giglio family independently operates five brick-and-mortar boutiques in Palermo, Italy, which was founded in 1965.
