Giglio.com launches B2B division offering digitalization services

MILAN — Amid uncertain prospects for many pure e-commerce players in the fashion industry, including Farfetch and Matches — the latter of which is shutting down its online operations this week — Italy’s Giglio.com is betting it could be the winning, albeit smaller, Trojan horse that wins the digital battle.

The luxury online retailer, listed on the AIM Italia stock exchange in Milan, announced on Wednesday, in a programme aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, the creation of a new business-to-business unit that will provide digitalisation services.

Digital Gateway is a new division that leverages Giglio.com’s 20+ years of experience in running a multi-brand online clothing store, offering business customers services designed to enhance their digital capabilities.

“The evolution of our business model towards B2B seems to be a natural consequence of today’s environment, in which specialist knowledge and tools that can significantly impact companies’ digitalization processes are becoming increasingly important,” said Giuseppe Giglio, President and CEO of Giglio.com.

“Digital Gateway addresses these needs by leveraging best-in-class capabilities developed over many years of Giglio.com experience, which have played a key role in our success,” he added.

The move could also be seen as a way to diversify Giglio.com’s business, which saw sales rise by 10 percent in 2023 to €56.3 million and profitability improve, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization coming in at a loss of €200,000, up 3 percentage points over two years.

Digital Gateway’s services will include a photo center dedicated to creating e-commerce product catalogs for clients and brands, utilizing 20 photography studios and Giglio.com’s dedicated team; a creative center, a studio that develops custom editorial campaigns and marketing materials; a marketing center dedicated to helping brands achieve high ROI, technology-driven marketing strategies; and a technology center to help clients design their websites and technology infrastructure using Giglio.com’s proprietary technology.

Giglio.com was founded in 1996 and operates as a trading platform with around 200 physical stores, mainly in Italy, but also in France and Spain, as well as in other countries.

As reported, Giglio.com partnered with Vestiaire Collective last year to enter the secondary market and introduced a design and lifestyle section, which helped increase gross merchandise value. It also opened a state-of-the-art 75,347-square-foot facility in Palermo, Italy, dedicated to logistics operations and product shoots.

In addition to Giglio.com, the Giglio family independently operates five brick-and-mortar boutiques in Palermo, Italy, a business they began in 1965.