Luxury goods trade organisation Walpole is trying to help firms boost online sales during the coronavirus lockdown, in a new project dubbed ‘virtual Bond Street’.
Walpole said it is offering to help promote members’ online shops on its own website, digital newsletter and social media platforms in a big push.
The move is to help luxury labels entice well-heeled shoppers that would typically buy from shops on the capital’s luxury retail streets, including Bond Street.
The trade body is asking firms to submit pictures, offers and contacts they would like to promote via Walpole.
Fortnum & Mason, whose food hall section remains open on Piccadilly, and cashmere specialist Johnston’s of Elgin, are among the businesses that have so far agreed to participate.
Helen Brocklebank, chief executive of Walpole, said: “Trading conditions for luxury businesses are understandably very challenging at the moment and the virtual Bond Street initiative is one way of supporting brands, many of whom are SMEs, and therefore particularly hard-hit in the current climate.”
