e-Commerce is an irresistible force bringing on board the most reluctant luxury retailers forced to rethink their unique image nurtured over decades as they recognize digital distribution has become too costly to ignore

But the absolute domination in the digital space of a very small number of world beating platforms is a conundrum retailers and service providers are not likely to solve any time soon

Fronting for the consumer, the digital platforms must dominate at any price to win the data wars and  retain firsthand – possibly exclusive – knowledge of the clients, data they may or may not share with manufacturers, retailers, services providers and financial institutions

This is why the partnerships, the acquisition strategies and the distribution agreements are foremost about data control, analytics and sharing agreements

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