In 2011, retail was still a viable route to market for most luxury brands. Internet sales were rising but, at that time, online shoppers were reluctant to purchase expensive items sight unseen over the internet.
That reluctance has now all but disappeared. Around £17bn work of luxury goods are sold online, equivalent to 8% of all sales worldwide.
The mobile phones most of us used 10 years ago bear no relation to the black slab portable touchscreen computers we carry around on which we can find and compare luxury items and everything else within seconds.
