Kering's Gucci, Tencent Partner Up on Digital Strategy

   By Cristina Roca 
 

Kering's (KER.FR) flagship Gucci brand has partnered up with China's Tencent Holdings Ltd. (0700.HK) to innovate in digital and help the luxury fashion brand grow its Chinese customer base, the companies said Monday.

The partnership will focus on digital strategies "spanning the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Smart Retail, Content Generation and Digital Thought Leadership," the companies said in a joint press release.

"Through this collaboration with Gucci, we will jointly build exceptional experiences for Gucci's community, conveying Gucci's fashion sensibility and contemporary aesthetics to Chinese consumers," Tencent President Martin Lau said.

The first project from the partnership is a four-part film series produced by Tencent for the Florentine brand, the companies said.

Gucci's parent, Paris-based Kering, isn't the first luxury-goods player to partner up with a Chinese digital player in a bid to better capitalize the country's potential. Last month, Burberry Group PLC (BRBY.LN) said it had entered a partnership with Tencent in order to develop social retail in China, and last year Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA's (CFR.EB) Yoox-Net-a-Porter business established a joint venture with China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) in order to expand its reach in the country.

Write to Cristina Roca at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 02, 2019 12:37 ET (17:37 GMT)

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