Luxury online shopping platform Italist launches in SA

Access to Italy's finest

The site provides South African luxury shoppers with access to 150 luxury Italian multi-brand boutiques that stock over 750 worldwide luxury brands. It provides consumers with access to limited edition offerings that are almost impossible to find anywhere else, except in physical stores in a few cities in Italy.

Italist CEO and co-founder, Diego Abba, says, “Without leaving their homes, both men and women will now be able to shop at some of Italy’s most beautiful stores, which have only ever been accessible to South Africans who travel overseas and visit the boutiques on the streets of Italy.

“Shoppers will have access to a wide selection of exclusive products from brands such as Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Celine, Givenchy, Gucci, Missoni, to the most current designers such as Off-White, Golden Goose and Mary Katrantzou.”

Consumers can enjoy competitive prices on their purchases, which are priced the same as they would be when purchasing these goods from luxury boutiques along the streets of Italy, but with a better assortment and at lower prices than the rest of the world.

One-stop luxury marketplace

“In creating Italist, we wanted to revolutionise the luxury shopping experience for everyone around the world, where they can conveniently browse and purchase premium goods through this one-stop marketplace.

“Seeing as South Africa and Africa has one of the largest potential e-commerce markets, coupled with the ever-growing love for designer products, we saw this as an opportunity to establish our presence in South Africa to fill the gap in the online market for luxury products.”

The platform also has a 24/7 customer support feature, where customers can be assisted live during the browsing and purchasing process.

Since Italist launched two years ago, the brand has grown exponentially and is now available in more than 85 countries. “This highlights both the site’s credibility and the demand for an online marketplace for luxury goods,” Abba concludes.