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cecillewhite · 6 years

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2019 Talented Learning Awards: Continuing Education Systems

Last week we kicked-off the 2019 Talented Learning Awards by honoring the best learning systems in our first category – corporate extended enterprise systems. And this week the celebration continues, as we recognize excellence in our second category – continuing education systems.

Specifically, today we focus on top learning and certification solutions used by trade and professional associations, mission-driven non-profits, commercial training providers, trade schools and subject matter experts.

Of course, other kinds of learning software also deserve recognition. For example, many top-notch solutions focus on employee compliance, talent management, academic ed tech, learning experiences, content management and authoring. We may explore these market segments in the future.

However, today we’re excited to shine a light on exceptional continuing education systems because they are our lifeblood. When we founded Talented Learning five years ago, we set out on a mission to chart every corner of the extended enterprise learning landscape. This is where our knowledge and expertise are strongest. So naturally, we want to emphasize these solutions first and foremost.

Why Are Continuing Education Systems Special?

For most continuing education providers, creating and selling content is their primary business, so the underlying infrastructure is absolutely mission critical. Associations and continuing education companies must attract, engage and sell to people who voluntarily choose to consume instructional content. In contrast with employees or students, these audiences can’t be forced to complete training “assignments.” Instead, their learning journeys are much more self-directed.

For these reasons, a complete continuing education solution usually requires multiple elements:

A high-quality public “branded” website;

Integrated systems for content management, customer relationship management, event management and membership management;

Tools for marketing automation, social networking, secure ecommerce, product fulfillment, analytics and more.

That’s a long way from an employee LMS, an academic LMS – or even most corporate extended enterprise learning systems!

Not surprisingly, many continuing education learning systems vendors are specialists. Their solutions are built exclusively for organizations that create, manage and sell multiple types of professional development content in various formats and quantities. Company founders, investors and executives usually have deep experience in the continuing education sphere and are personally familiar with the problems their systems are designed to solve.

Because continuing education providers often look to technology vendors for hands-on guidance, these learning solutions usually come with professional services that are much more extensive than standard implementation and administrative support. For example, customers often seek expertise in strategic marketing, curriculum and instructional design, online and mobile content development, video production and event management, as well as integration, administration and end-user support.

As a result, continuing education system developers tend to build stronger partnerships with clients than corporate extended enterprise learning vendors. These relationships often distinguish successful continuing education systems from many of their corporate systems counterparts. In fact, if you compare our awards for corporate extended enterprise solutions with the continuing education systems below, you’ll see that only five vendors are recognized in both categories.

How We Select Award Candidates

To qualify for a continuing education award, a system must meet these criteria:

The vendor’s website must clearly position the system as a continuing education solution. (Purely academic or employee-only solutions are not considered.)

Vendors must have participated in executive briefings and/or buying opportunities we’ve managed.

Current and/or former customers and employees must endorse the winners.

2019 Awards List: Best Continuing Education & Association Learning Systems

More than 750 learning systems are currently on our radar. With all these possibilities, selecting winners is no easy process. So if your name is on this list, it’s a big deal.

This year, we honor 25 outstanding continuing education solutions – 15 award winners and 10 finalists – listed alphabetically in each category below. In the following section, we briefly describe our impression of winners and finalists, so you can learn about each solution and its strengths. Feel free to bookmark this page so you can refer to it when you’re looking for systems in the future.

Congratulations to all!

AWARD WINNERS

BenchPrep Blue Sky eLearn CE21 CommPartners Community Brands Crowd Wisdom Community Brands Freestone Digitec Interactive EthosCE ExtensionEngine Higher Logic mElimu Thought Industries WBT Systems Web Courseworks Yardstick

AWARD FINALISTS

BlueVolt Cornerstone eLogic Learning Holmes Corporation Kokm LearningCart LearnDash LearnWorlds Teachable Thinkific

(NOTE: We invite all winners and finalists to display the Talented Learning Awards badge on your website and in promotions. This week our team will send original badge artwork to your primary contact via email or direct message, along with our best wishes!)

Award Contenders: What You Should Know

Below we’ve described what we think are the key strengths and differentiators for each of the continuing education systems we considered. Award winners are listed first, followed by finalists – all in alphabetical order.

AWARD WINNERS

BENCHPREP

Founded in 2009 to deliver efficient on-the-go learning, BenchPrep quickly established itself as an innovation leader in the certification and test preparation industry. This omni-channel learning platform now helps some of the world’s top publishers and credentialing bodies deliver self-paced tutorials and other continuing education content online.

Additionally, BenchPrep is carving out a niche with commercial training companies. This SaaS platform powers a growing collection of apps that drive user engagement and business revenues through highly personalized user experiences. Among other capabilities, BenchPrep solutions include white-label branding, single-source content management, third-party software integration and support for delivery via B2B, B2C and reseller channels.

BLUE SKY ELEARN

Blue Sky eLearn is known as a powerful system and great partner for organizations that produce educational webinars, webcasts and live events at national or regional conferences. It is a particularly attractive choice for finance, healthcare and legal industry associations.

Founded in 2002, Blue Sky supports the entire event lifecycle, including branded event portals and ad networks, registration and attendance, presentation proposals and materials management and complex certification credits. It also records session videos and posts them immediately on the LMS, along with related materials.

Many organizations that conduct large-scale events rely on proven production and event management experts. As a strategic differentiator, Blue Sky has sought out these vendors and partnered with them to build LMS integrations for third-party event mobile apps, registration systems and video applications their clients already use.

CE21

CE21 (short for “continuing education for the 21st century”) provides a modern, mobile-optimized solution for companies and associations that sell continuing education content. This robust, specialized LMS was built with user experience in mind, so organizations can easily develop, manage, promote, sell and deliver live webcasts, webinars, virtual summits and on-demand continuing education programs.

The CE21 platform also includes a neat “sharing marketplace” that makes it possible for continuing education providers to buy and sell content with others across its extended ecosystem. This is a smart way to leverage the shared interests and buying power of the global CE21 client network.

COMMPARTNERS

With more than 25 years of experience in serving associations and non-profit organizations, CommPartners has grown and evolved along with continuing education needs and technologies. The CommPartners solution is unique because it offers more than just a strong, community-oriented, mobile-responsive, modern LMS.

The platform is also supported by a variety of companion services, including curriculum and instructional design, as well as production and management of webinars, webcasts, live-streamed events and virtual conferences. With personalized, hands-on guidance from in-house experts, CommPartners ensures that clients achieve high-quality results from their investment in continuing education programs.

COMMUNITY BRANDS CROWD WISDOM

Crowd Wisdom (now a division of Community Brands) is a great choice for organizations that want to generate revenue from professional development, certification, test preparation and other continuing education offerings. Building on a common software-as-a-service (SaaS) code infrastructure, this platform makes it possible to create semi-custom solutions that deliver an ultra-modern learning experience.

It also provides ecommerce capabilities that integrate easily into broader technology ecosystems. The Crowd Wisdom platform is mobile responsive and scales affordably as organizations expand their global reach.

COMMUNITY BRANDS FREESTONE

For nearly 19 years, Freestone (now a division of Community Brands) has led the way in serving the association and non-profit community. This learning platform is designed specifically for live-event capture, webinars, webcasts and on-demand streaming. It also integrates seamlessly with third-party AMS platforms for complete continuing education business support.

Freestone is special because it’s not just technology. It’s actually a hybrid solution that bundles essential tools with production personnel who help schedule, promote, broadcast, moderate, record, develop, host and administer engaging interactive content. This turnkey approach makes it easy for clients to rely on Freestone for precisely the level of hosting needed to deliver successful educational events, live and on-demand.

DIGITECH INTERACTIVE

Digitec Interactive offers a strong mix of association domain experience and content development services to support their LMS clients. Digitec’s learning portal platform is a pure SaaS solution with a low entry cost and reasonable ongoing operating costs. This solution supports the creation and management of any type of content, including video, training authored within the Digitec platform, off-the-shelf titles, MOOC-style courses based on time-released modules and more.

Digitec’s solution is attractive for small and mid-sized associations, for commercial continuing education providers and for non-profits that want to get started with high-quality online delivery, but with minimal complexity and cost.

ETHOSCE

EthosCE rocks the healthcare continuing education world. With more than 90% of its clients in the healthcare industry, this company focuses on medical education more than any other LMS vendor we’ve met. In fact, this company serves many of the world’s leading medical associations, academic medical centers, health systems and medical education programs.

EthosCE is usually the first platform provider to productize new healthcare industry-standard APIs and compliance reports. For example, the platform includes automated reporting and integration with ACCME web services for PARS, ABA, ABIM and ABP MOC 2 programs, as well as CE Broker and CPE Monitor. (Even if you aren’t familiar with these terms, this indicates just how deeply EthosCE cares about continuing medical education.)

This platform is ideal for any organization that sells CME, CNE, CPE and related content to organizations or directly to individual health practitioners.

EXTENSIONENGINE

If you’re looking to deploy a jaw-dropping, one-of-kind, high-end, high-dollar continuing education solution, look no further than ExtensionEngine. This vendor leverages its extensive instructional, business and marketing expertise with its own proprietary code and/or open source code to create full custom solutions for leading organizations that want to deliver premium branded learning experiences.

Associations, universities and commercial continuing education providers that bet the future on content quality aren’t as rare as you might think. And when user experience is synonymous with brand experience, there’s little room for compromise. It calls for highly personalized, engaging solutions that differentiate themselves through carefully coordinated marketing, commerce, interactivity, collaboration, gamification and mobile design. This is ExtensionEngine’s strength.

HIGHER LOGIC

Higher Logic is not a LMS. Rather, it’s an online community and marketing automation platform that connects association members with one another for continuing education experiences that add depth and dimension to lifelong learning. Whether individuals are simply visiting a web page that clarifies your organization’s mission or exchanging professional advice in a digital forum, Higher Logic tracks and manages interactions and engagement through each stage of a member’s journey.

Many associations deploy this solution as a standalone community and collaboration platform, while others use it more strategically by integrating it with their LMS. By combining detailed analytics data from these sources, associations can create a full panoramic view of the member experience.

mELIMU

With a brand name combining ‘m’ (for mobile) and ‘Elimu’ (an African word for education), mElimu is an LMS with a mobile-first mindset that supports training anytime, anywhere, on any device. Rather than rearchitecting a web-based LMS, mElimu saw the need for an application that delivers continuing education to low-bandwidth clients through a true mobile app. As proof of concept, mElimu initially landed key clients in the African market, including the Young African Leaders Initiative Network and the Apex Training Institute.

mElimu provides associations with a suite of complementary learning-related capabilities, including registration management, online/offline conference apps, elearning and virtual classroom tools. It also includes an ecommerce-based education service provider platform, so subject matter experts can create and sell learning content online.

This system is a good choice for small and mid-sized global associations and nonprofits with diverse content and learners that face inconsistent bandwidth.

THOUGHT INDUSTRIES

Thought Industries is an up-and-coming learning platform, available in two variations. One is for organizations that sell learning content to businesses or individuals. The other is for customer education in B2B and B2C environments.

Both are highly configurable and built to attract voluntary learners and drive ecommerce revenue. In fact, these systems almost fully customizable in the admin interface, so your learning environment can look and feel exactly like your organization’s other branded apps and web properties.

Thought Industries also includes incredibly powerful authoring tools such as automated interfaces and editable intra-content language localizations. In addition, sophisticated B2B ecommerce capabilities – including branded portals, shared content licensing, coupon codes, promotions, subscriptions, delegated administration, complex CE management, tight CRM integration and robust reporting – make it easy for training companies to sell and manage content in volume.

WBT SYSTEMS

Based in Ireland, WBT Systems is an established learning solutions provider with a powerhouse platform built expressly for associations. The WBT solution is very robust – comparable to the best corporate learning management systems – because it is highly configurable and addresses even the most complex continuing education requirements.

This platform is ideal for large-scale domestic and international member organizations with complex learning technology requirements. For example, WBT makes it possible to manage multiple organizations, local chapters and all types of learning content. It also features tight AMS and CRM integration, language localizations, badging, gamification, ecommerce tools and advanced analytics.

In recent years, the leadership team purchased WBT and took it private, so it’s now a tight-knit group of owner/operators that care deeply about client success. WBT is known for retaining clients by keeping them satisfied with the quality of their tools and the level of support they provide.

WEB COURSEWORKS

If you want a sophisticated LMS with user-friendly social and mobile functionality for complex continuing education needs, you’ll want to look at Web Courseworks. This 30-year-old company started as a content provider that produced live events and video for member-based organizations. Over time, that focus expanded to online learning and a system that delivers learning content.

Now Web Courseworks is one of the strongest LMS providers in the association market, especially for healthcare-related organizations. This platform makes it easy to create and deliver content and integrate it with AMS solutions and Salesforce.com.

In addition to providing mobile-responsive content delivery, they’re pushing the envelope with mobile apps that extend beyond classrooms or events to encourage continued engagement. For example, you can deliver daily or weekly questions or case studies that promote ongoing interaction and lead to certification credit.

YARDSTICK

Yardstick is a Canadian company that specializes in online testing that ensures students and professionals are ready to move forward in their endeavors. The company combines innovative technology with expertise in instructional design and exam administration to design, deliver and interpret tests guided by psychometric science.

Working together with numerous associations, licensing bodies, government institutions and private-sector corporations, Yardstick’s full-service proctoring and exam administration address virtually any test scenario. For example, to support high-stakes proctored exams, Yardstick provides an integrated online solution that monitors attendance, manages credentials and automatically verifies student identity using biometric keystrokes.

AWARD FINALISTS

BLUEVOLT

There’s a lot to like about BlueVolt. The company is about 15 years old and its approach to learning management is different from any vendor I’ve seen. BlueVolt LMS is purpose-built to serve industrial business segments – organizations focused on things like HVAC, plumbing and electricity, as well as continuing education in those specialties.

All of these industrial professions are supported by trade associations that are unique, complex ecosystems of suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and distributors. The BlueVolt LMS brings together these various constituents in a holistic, community-based learning environment, where all participants benefit from lifelong, measurable education.

CORNERSTONE

Cornerstone is the world’s leading talent LMS brand. The platform’s capabilities are comprehensive and can be configured and integrated to support both internal and extended enterprise requirements.

Although organizations of any size can benefit from this platform, it typically adds the most value in large, heterogeneous environments with complex learning requirements – including associations and commercial continuing education providers. For continuing education scenarios, Cornerstone provides global delivery, certification, credit management, ecommerce and analytics capabilities.

As a competitive advantage, Cornerstone now largely relies on certified implementation partners, rather than staffing a global professional services organization. This means you can expect more personalized, hands-on support –typically from a local organization that specializes in guiding Cornerstone clients through the implementation process.

eLOGIC LEARNING

eLogic Learning offers a very strong, configurable LMS that includes deep support for complex continuing education, organizational/role management, B2B and B2C ecommerce, and systems integration capabilities that continuing education providers need to run a successful content business. Located in Florida and known for happy, referenceable clients, eLogic is a small, focused, owner-operated organization that attracts many big-name, long-term clients.

The eLogic platform is an affordable workhorse that is a great choice for organizations with more sophisticated continuing education needs. Its rare unlimited-use, fixed-cost licensing tier is especially attractive for member-based organizations with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of annual learners.

HOLMES CORPORATION

Since 1970, Holmes has developed and delivered comprehensive learning solutions for individuals seeking globally recognized professional credentials and certifications. Through partnerships with more than 250 academic institutions and training providers, Holmes specializes in building custom solutions for member-based organizations that sell complex certification programs and test prep solutions.

As a result, Holmes has become a leader in helping professional associations grow their certification business by driving brand awareness, membership and non-dues revenue. In fact, this company is so committed to the quality of its solutions that it shares risks and rewards with customers through a percent-of-revenue payment model.

KOKM

Built by Scottish virtual learning campus developer, iWise2, Kokm combines best-of-breed products from several vendors into a single community-oriented learning platform. Specifically, Kokm integrates a CMS, an LMS, authoring tools and a social platform into a unified environment for global team-based work, collaboration and knowledge sharing.

This infrastructure is ideal for continuing education providers that need to organize and sell an abundance of content from multiple sources. It includes full white-label site design and Google-quality search, along with easy-to-use tools for content creation, web conferencing, video capture, publishing and ecommerce. To support live learning events, Kokm also adds hotel booking and catering tools, cohort capabilities and an attendee directory.

LEARNINGCART

This platform represents the expertise of Big Step Consulting, a provider of custom solutions that blend ecommerce, content management and learning management technology. LearningCart makes it easy for organizations to promote and sell learning content in multiple forms – training modules, digital files, physical products, in-person events, webinars and more. In fact, LearningCart clients generate more than $500 million in combined content revenue each year.

Core platform functionality can be enhanced with more than a dozen plug-and-play integrations. Plus, integration with Zapier extends integration support to another 1000 applications. LearningCart offers free trials and is priced affordably at much less than $1 per active user for organizations serving 500 users or more.

LEARNDASH

LearnDash is a solid solution for any organization that wants to transform its WordPress website into a full-featured continuing education platform, complete with ecommerce capabilities. Deployed as a WordPress plugin, LearnDash adds learning content creation, promotion, delivery and administration.

Although LearnDash is a plug-in, it is a feature-rich solution with capabilities such as drip-feed content, lesson timers, discussion forums, quizzing, prerequisites, CE credits, certificates and more. Also, because it leverages the native strengths of the WordPress publishing platform, LearnDash is the most SEO-friendly, mobile-optimized way to market learning content. What’s more, this solution costs only $159/year for an annual license to deliver unlimited courses to unlimited users. That’s crazy cheap, given the value LearnDash provides.

LEARNWORLDS

LearnWorlds is a fully customizable platform that helps subject matter experts and organizations create and sell dynamic, interactive courses online. This platform makes it possible to market and deliver content through mobile-responsive, branded white-label websites.

LearnWorlds also leverages a combination of social learning, gamification, daily news feeds, embedded video and notetaking to transform learning content into dynamic learning experiences. Packaging options help you promote content “trials” through free chapters, free courses and private content delivery. Plus, solid marketing tools like built-in SEO, conversion tracking and analytics make it possible to improve business results over time. If you’re not sure whether the advanced features or pricing fit your needs, LearnWorlds offers free trials so you can try before you buy.

TEACHABLE

Of the many online course platforms available today, Teachable is one of the best for beginners because it’s simple, it’s affordable and it works. This platform primarily targets teachers, subject matter experts and consultants with a no-frills platform that makes it easy to create continuing education and deliver it through a secure, professional online point-of-presence.

You can sell courses directly to the public, or through the popular Teachable Marketplace, or both. The solution also comes with helpful marketing tools such as coupons, promotions and subscriptions, as well as affiliate marketing support and automated payouts.

While there are plenty of useful features, Teachable may not offer all the functionality you’ll need to expand your business over time. Nevertheless, you can get started immediately with a free trial, and with costs as low as $29/month for unlimited users and courses, it’s an attractive choice.

THINKIFIC

Thinkific is one of many online platforms that enable entrepreneurs and subject matter experts to turn their expertise into a sustainable business. Specifically, Thinkific makes it possible to create, market, sell and deliver courses and membership sites without having to invest time and cost in standalone software.

This solution effectively pulls together all the pieces of a learning business, including site design, course creation tools, sales and marketing automation, secure ecommerce capabilities and third-party tool integrations. Unlike more basic online course platforms, Thinkific also offers an enterprise-level platform for more sophisticated business needs.

If you want to kick the tires before you commit, Thinkific offers free “test drive” access. But what really sets this solution apart is its pricing structure, based on unlimited students, unlimited customer support and no transaction fees.

Want Deeper Learning Systems Insights?

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doxampage · 7 years

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Print 17 “A-Ha” Moments That Set the Stage for Profitability

This was my first year attending Graph Expo during a “Print” year. For those of you who don’t know this, every 4 years Graph Expo is transformed into a longer event that gives vendors from around the world an opportunity to visit and showcase their products and services right here in North America.

And it didn’t fail to deliver.

There was a renewed energy on the show floor this year. I don’t think many will argue the fact that this is largely due to the show’s return to Chicago. But it was more than that.

From the huge PRINT letters situated outside the show floor that encouraged people to become the “I” in Print, to the creativity of print applications featured, what stood out the most for me was the focus on the customer.

A-Ha moment #1: When you invest the time to understand a prospect’s objectives, they will invest the time in learning more about your product/service.

This year, the show organizers made a concerted effort to focus the event on delivering ROI to the customer. Some vendors took that message to heart, and used it as an opportunity to change their talk track. They shared stories of profitability, cost reductions, customer success stories and impact to the bottom line. Of course speeds and feeds were discussed…eventually.

More times than not, a simple “Hi, what challenges are you experiencing in your business today?” led to a conversation that mattered to them. Which led to a mini demo at a pod. Which led to an in-depth demo in the lounge. Which ultimately led to a sale.

A-Ha moment #2: Millennials matter…and they need mentors.

A recent article in Printing Impressions lays the facts out in black and white: 87% of millennials like receiving direct mail. Unfortunately, the negative stigma of print often overshadows its valuable role in an omni-channel world. As professionals in this industry, it’s our responsibility to mentor tomorrow’s up-and-coming designers and marketers not only in the value of print, but in the craft of print itself.

One person I spoke with in the #Printerverse was saying how today’s press operators don’t actually operate a press. They skillfully operate highly specialized computers. While they are extremely talented and trained, there is less and less human-to-press intervention.

Students, interns and recent graduates need mentors in this industry to pass along the craft, and the pride, that goes into producing an excellent print job, whether it’s a business card or a multi-touch, digitally-integrated marketing campaign.

A-Ha moment #3: Print is not dead…it’s just been re-packaged!

Shortly before I left for Print 17, my 15-yr-old son showed me his new school ID. His words: “Look, it’s not a piece of laminated paper crap, it’s a proper plastic card!” What he didn’t get was that the plastic card was still considered a form of print.

There was no shortage of examples like this on the show floor: printed pieces that don’t fit the typical “ink on paper” stigma. As written in the infotrends blog: While PRINT is not a packaging, label, or wide format show, all major vendors were talking about these applications alongside solutions for enterprise and commercial print.

The conversations around print, what it is, what it can do, and where it makes an impact are the conversations that drive sales.

Did you have a chance to make it out to Print 17? What were some of your a-ha moments?

See more posts by Joanne

Joanne Gore is the Director of Marketing for Avanti and a monthly contributor to Print Media Centr’s News From The Printerverse. She has nearly three decades of B2B marketing and communications experience, including corporate and small office environments. Joanne develops lead generation and conversion programs, re-brands product lines, implements social media strategies, manages PR and media relations campaigns, overhauls websites, develops highly targeted marketing campaigns, and delivers results. Joanne is an industry presenter, currently sits on the board of Xplor International, is the President of Xplor Canada, and is a returning mentor for the Ontario Summer Company, a Government initiative for youth entrepreneurship and employment. She graduated as a Graphic Designer and, prior to joining the corporate world, worked in the print industry as an art director, typesetter, and printing consultant. Joanne is a marketing geekette by day, a fitness instructor by night, and a mom 24-7.

Contact Joanne at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter: @JoanneGore121

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ebizupdate · 7 years

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JD.com and Farfetch Partner to Open Ultimate Gateway for Bringing Luxury Brands to China

BEIJING, June 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

JD invests $397 million in Farfetch, leaps further into luxury sector

Partnership allows Chinese consumers to access Farfetch's unique curation of the best luxury brands online

E-commerce giant, JD.com (Nasdaq: JD), China's largest retailer and Farfetch, the leading global e-commerce platform for the fashion industry, today announced a strategic partnership that will create the premier platform for luxury e-commerce across China, opening a gateway to an $80 billion market.

The strategic partnership between JD.com and Farfetch leverages JD's unparalleled logistics, Internet finance and technology capabilities and social media resources, including its WeChat partnership, with Farfetch's leadership in global luxury, to create a frictionless and seamless brand experience. Farfetch has well-established operations in China and is already the partner of choice for 200 luxury brands and more than 500 multi-brand retailers. JD will help drive further brand awareness, traffic and sales for Farfetch in the market.

As part of this partnership, JD.com will become one of the largest shareholders of Farfetch, investing $397 million, and Richard Liu, JD.com's founder and CEO, will join the Farfetch board. JD and Farfetch will partner on marketing, logistics and technology solutions to build the brand in China, while Farfetch will continue to be the customer-facing brand.

The combined strength of the Farfetch-JD partnership will benefit all 700 brands and boutiques that are part of the Farfetch community, enabling them to take advantage of the vast resources of this new gateway to China's luxury market.

Leveraging JD Luxury Express, JD's recently launched white glove service, Farfetch will be able to offer customers a premium level of service befitting the world-class brands sold on the site. For Chinese consumers, this combination of Farfetch's luxury know-how, and JD's blazing same-day delivery speeds and highly professional service, will provide an unparalleled luxury proposition.

Farfetch partner brands with a local retail presence, will also have access to world-class omni-channel capabilities, including click & collect and in-store returns, connecting the brands' physical retail stores in China to consumers.

The joint efforts between the two companies will also include leveraging BlackDragon, a digital marketing technology platform powering entities across retail, e-commerce, tech, finance, travel, education and auto. BlackDragon will enable Farfetch to activate the vast resources of JD's treasure trove of big data and help it market and build automated marketing pipelines to spur Farfetch's name recognition and market position in China.

In addition, through the partnership, Farfetch users in China will also gain access to a variety of services from JD Finance. These will include JD Pay, which will be a preferred payments partner, and Baitiao, JD Finance's popular consumer microcredit channel.

The announcement comes as JD is placing a greater focus on high-end luxury and fashion to match the huge demand among its upwardly mobile customers. Over the last two years, JD has hosted fashion shows in New York, Milan, London, Beijing and Shanghai. Since the beginning of the year, the company has hired Winston Cheng as President of International to lead its international business development with global partners and overseas investments, and separated JD Fashion into a new business unit under the e-commerce business and named Xia Ding as the president, giving the vertical greater priority. In 2017, JD Fashion has made a major push in the luxury and fashion areas, launching several key international brands on the site, including Armani, Swarovski and Zenith.

"As part of our major luxury push, we could not have found a stronger online partner than Farfetch," said Richard Liu, Chairman and CEO of JD.com. "We have always believed that the long-term trend of Chinese e-commerce is towards quality over price and this partnership with Farfetch further extends our lead in the battle for the future of China's upwardly mobile consumers. We look forward to deepening our relationships with Farfetch and luxury brands in the months and years ahead."

"We are deeply honoured and excited to be announcing this partnership with Richard Liu and JD.com," José Neves, Founder, Co-Chairman and CEO of Farfetch. "China is the world's second largest luxury market, and we are delighted to have such a respected partner, known for its strict protection of IP, with whom to address Chinese luxury consumers. This partnership addresses the market's challenges by combining the Farfetch brand and curation with the scale and influence of the foremost Chinese e-commerce giant. This strategic partnership will provide brands a seamless, immediate access to the luxury consumer and Chinese luxury shoppers with access to the greatest selection of luxury in the omni-channel way of life they have already fully embraced."

Regarding the addition of Mr. Liu to Farfetch's board, Mr. Neves added, "I am humbled and honoured to have one of the Internet's most legendary entrepreneurs - Richard Liu - join our board, alongside Dame Natalie Massenet and Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman and Chief Executive of Condé Nast International. We are honoured to have the advice and guidance of China's premier e-commerce guru as part of our highly experienced team, sitting around the same table as the world's luxury online pioneer and one of the world's pre-eminent publishers."

Note To Editors

The reference to the $80 billion market refers to both domestic and travel-related purchases using figures sourced from a report by Bain & Company entitled 'Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study, Fall-Winter 2016'.

About JD.com, Inc.

JD.com is both the largest e-commerce company in China, and the largest Chinese retailer, by revenue. The company strives to offer consumers the best online shopping experience. Through its user-friendly website, native mobile apps, and WeChat and Mobile QQ entry points, JD offers consumers a superior shopping experience. The company has the largest fulfillment infrastructure of any e-commerce company in China. As of March 31, 2017, JD.com operated 7 fulfillment centers and 263 warehouses covering 2,672 counties and districts across China, staffed by its own employees. JD.com is a member of the NASDAQ100 and a Fortune Global 500 company.

About Farfetch Group

Farfetch is the global platform for luxury. Farfetch.com partners with over 700 of the world's best luxury boutiques and brands, located from Tokyo to Toronto and from Milan to Miami. This unique business model guarantees an unparalleled range of luxury fashion from established brands to the most interesting new designers and one-of-a-kind styles.

The Farfetch Group consists of Farfetch.com, the e-commerce marketplace for luxury; Farfetch Black & White; a white label e-commerce solution for luxury retailers and Store of The Future; a suite of retail solutions to enhance the customer journey by connecting the online and offline worlds. The brand also added renowned London boutique Browns to its portfolio in 2015, which serves as an incubator for new retail technology ideas.

The Farfetch website and apps serve customers in 10 languages with offices in 11 cities globally. Farfetch express ships from over 700 partners in 40 countries to 190 countries worldwide with same day delivery in 10 cities.

In April 2017, Farfetch launched Store to Door in 90 Minutes, in exclusive partnership with Gucci available in 10 cities across 4 continents.

In June 2017, the company announced a global content and commerce partnership with Conde Nast, the preeminent content provider, to create a seamless editorial shopping experience from inspiration to shopping gratification.

Farfetch is backed by world-renowned tech and luxury investors, IDG Capital Partners, Temasek, Eurazeo, DST Global, Index Ventures, Vitruvian Partners and Condé Nast International.

http://www.farfetch.com @Farfetch

Read this news on PR Newswire Asia website: JD.com and Farfetch Partner to Open Ultimate Gateway for Bringing Luxury Brands to China

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sffgtrhyjhmnzdt · 6 months

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sffgtrhyjhmnzdt · 6 months

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sffgtrhyjhmnzdt · 7 months

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ebizupdate · 7 years

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JD.com and Farfetch Partner to Open Ultimate Gateway for Bringing Luxury Brands to China

BEIJING, June 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

JD invests $397 million in Farfetch, leaps further into luxury sector

Partnership allows Chinese consumers to access Farfetch's unique curation of the best luxury brands online

Note To Editors

About JD.com, Inc.

About Farfetch Group

In April 2017, Farfetch launched Store to Door in 90 Minutes, in exclusive partnership with Gucci available in 10 cities across 4 continents.

In June 2017, the company announced a global content and commerce partnership with Condé Nast, the preeminent content provider, to create a seamless editorial shopping experience from inspiration to shopping gratification.

Farfetch is backed by world-renowned tech and luxury investors, IDG Capital Partners, Temasek, Eurazeo, DST Global, Index Ventures, Vitruvian Partners and Condé Nast International.

http://www.farfetch.com @Farfetch

Read this news on PR Newswire Asia website: JD.com and Farfetch Partner to Open Ultimate Gateway for Bringing Luxury Brands to China

#Internet

0 notes