Following its parent company’s interest to merge with its number one competitor, Farfetch, the Milan-based online fashion retailer Yoox is now preparing to launch its new marketplace function. This may provide a great opportunity for small brands and retailers to reach Yoox’s worldwide audience, starting from Europe and then moving global next year.

After the recent inclusion of design and art products within its marketed categories, the Richmond-owned Yoox (YNAP) has decided to take a step further and transition to a hybrid model to expand its product assortment with over 700 brands and 150.000 new items across jewelry, ready-to-wear, accessories and footwear. According to Valentina Visconti Prada, Yoox Managing Director, this expansion will bring new categories on the platform, ranging from beauty to pre-owned items that will further enrich the shopping experience due to the renewed variety of products showcased (Yoox).

The Milan-based platform has not released any detail yet related to operations and on boarding. What we know so far is that sellers can apply for Yoox marketplace by sending an email directly to the platform from here.

Yoox has confirmed that the new platform has been created with SMEs and small brands in mind. Both will retain full control over end-prices, will be able to connect with customers faster and will be able to adopt lean solutions for re-stock and logistical operations. At the same time, sales data will remain available to sellers in real time through the platform. A special care will be dedicated to a selection of sustainable fashion brands that will be listed inside the marketplace. These items will be displayed in accordance with the “Good on You” rating system so that consumers can evaluate if the products come from green and responsible production cycles.

According to Statista, fashion is the largest B2C eCommerce market segment in the world, but it still holds a huge potential, estimated to reach almost 1.2 billion USD by 2025. Marketplaces like Yoox or Zalando give ready access to a wide audience and tend to offer integrated or one-stop services to sellers, like in house logistics, together with a solid market reputation and boosted security for customer payments. Therefore, SMEs should keep differentiate their sales channels and plan how to integrate new platforms with their long-term strategies.