Remarkably for a label that has enjoyed such rapid growth in the past half-decade, Delvaux was practically non-existent when it came to online business.
It did e-tail a few handbags in the USA with Barneys, but that ended with the demise of the famed department store. Plus, there is a recent arrangement with JD.com to retail a few items in China. But the digital reticence ends on 17 April when Delvaux begins its online roll-out of a selection of new handbags and miniatures, mini handbags dedicated to cities where Delvaux has built a flagship. With the latest being Dolce Vita for Italy.
The move into e-commerce marks the return as CEO of Marco Probst. In between quitting Delvaux for an “18-month sabbatical” he took a course at Columbia Business School on digital marketing.
“When I rejoined Delvaux last December after a year and a half away we were arrogant that we were only bricks and mortar along with very good service. I also realized that I use my iPhone to buy high value electric guitars and so Delvaux needed to open up and create a task force, not so much for e-commerce, more for digitalisation,” explained the 54-year-old CEO in a call from Delvaux’s Brussels-headquarters.
