A company that has led the way in its sector and remains, 21 years after its birth, among the global leaders in one of the most competitive arenas that exist, the e-commerce of fashion and luxury. On the identity card it will always be written that it is Italian, because today’s Ynap is the evolution of Yoox, born in 2000 in Italy from an intuition of Federico Marchetti, at the time just over thirty years old. Ynap, formally, is also Swiss, because since 2018 it has been part of the Richemont giant, but it is more correct to say that it is a globalized company, which in its portfolio has high-end e-commerce brands known all over the world, but that keeps the heart in Italy, in the true sense of the word. As explained by the CEO of Ynap (Yoox Net-a-porter) Geoffroy Lefebvre, who took over from Marchetti, who left the company in July to dedicate himself to new projects, linked in particular to sustainability and digital education.
Maxi investment in Italy
«Logistics and its computerization and automation are the basis of many sectors, but e-commerce is the soul – explains Lefebvre -. All the more so for Ynap, where every digital innovation is guided by a creative intuition and where there must always be a “human touch” in any process, however automated it may be ». That’s what happens to Landriano, in the province of Pavia and not far from Milan and the regional airports, where a 47 million euro hub was inaugurated, which represents one of the most significant investments in the last 20 years in logistical and operational terms made by Yoox Net-a-porter on land Italian. An operation that will double the inventory capacity of two of the group’s platforms, Net-a-porter (high-end women’s clothing and accessories) and Mr Porter (specialized in the men’s part, including luxury jewelery and watches). “For the first time in the history of Ynap, which has over 4.5 million customers in 180 countries, we will manage the millions of customers that Net-a-porter and Mr Porter have around the world from a single location – underlines the CEO -. But Landriano is not just a global distribution center of 54 thousand square meters: inside there are 6 thousand square meters dedicated to creative innovation and the creation of visual content for Italian and international luxury brands sold on the two platforms. One of the feedback we receive most often – adds Lefebvre – concerns the quality of the images and the care we put into photographing not only the products individually, but also combining them with others ».
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The positive effects on the territory
An operation that for the Pavia area has a multiple value: in addition to real estate investment, there are recruitments and the ability to attract young talents from Italy and abroad. It is no coincidence that Mariastella Gelmini, Minister for Regional Affairs, Fabiana Dadone, Minister for Youth Policies and Alessandra Todde, Deputy Minister for Economic Development were also present at yesterday’s inauguration. «The Landriano center is among the most innovative in Europe and thanks to a redevelopment of the peripheral area it will improve the lives of many citizens – commented Mariastella Gelmini -. The effort made by Ynap for absolute compliance with environmental standards, during construction and in the future, is also very important ».
As digital native companies, we could say, Yoox and then Ynap have always focused on technological skills and young talents: “In this structure, almost 50% of the hires are under the age of 35”, added Fabiana Dadone, also recalling the commitment by Marchetti before and now by Lefebvre “for gender equality and education in schools in new technologies”.
Long-term vision
The months of lockdown have given a strong impetus to e-commerce: the number of customers has expanded and more or less specialized platforms have been created all over the world. «Our competitive advantage is not linked only to size, but to our flexibility and openness to new ideas, which must circulate within the company like the air we breathe – concludes the CEO of Ynap -. Every day we learn something or discover an area in which it is worth investing more, because we have a long-term vision, starting with Italy ».