JD.com invests $397M into luxury marketplace Farfetch as part of a new strategic partnership

JD.com, China’s second-largest e-commerce company after Alibaba, is pumping $397 million into Farfetch, a marketplace for luxury brands, as part of a new strategic partnership. JD.com founder and CEO Richard Liu will take a seat on Farfetch’s board as part of the deal, which makes JD.com one of its largest shareholders.

Last year, Farfetch raised $110 million specifically to support its expansion in Asia. China, where Farfetch launched in 2014, had already become its second-largest market by the time that round was announced in May 2016. Farfetch currently partners with 200 brands and 500 multi-brand retailers there and its new alliance with JD.com will give it access to JD.com’s wide logistics network (including JD Luxury Express, its premium courier service), online payment and consumer microcredit tools, social media resources such as its partnership with WeChat, and big data.