Gucci.com Gives Canada Their Own Online Blip

Let’s face it Canada. We’re not exactly country numero uno when luxury brands think about the list of countries that deserve their own slash subfolders in their URLs. It’s actually more of a question for demand, but still. Canadians usually have to click over to the US site to view stuff, but can never order since they don’t ship over to Canada. It’s fine if third party sites like ShopBop and Net-a-porter are able to ship over to you from that “Choose your country” drop down list, but many labels will usually only have a US, UK, or European only shop sites.

Thus, it comes to as a surprise that Gucci has come up with Canada’s own slash subfolder URL, and had initially reached out to Canadian fashion bloggers first to tell you about it. It’s ground breaking in the sense that such a huge company like Gucci not only gives a new blip for Canada as a country deemed worthy of their own site, but also that Gucci is following through with their “fashion blogger outreach program” as I’d like to call it.

If you recall, last year, Gucci had launched their flagship store in New York and had invited 5 fashion bloggers (including Susie Bubble, now a staple fashion blogger icon) to blog about their experience. This was a new venture and I think every fashion blog in the loop were talking about it and dying of envy. Also through Business of Fashion, I had learned that Gucci also had their online banners splashed across Hint Magazine’s front page (which is now boasting ads of the likes of Seven New York and Swarovski).

It’s a healthy sign that luxury brands are turning towards online sites to promote as well as earn extra revenue through their shop sites, as more and more people are purchasing online instead of visiting stores. What with the iPhone allowing users to purchase on the spot, it seems that shoppers don’t even have time to stay on a computer to shop. I mean, just look at what Business of Fashion has said on WWD yesterday, that the future is online for luxury brands.

The site itself is pretty much a replica of the US site, with horizontal browsing, several angle views of the products, etc. Overall a pretty seamless shop site and offers you practically the entire collection at a click of a mouse. For Montreal especially, we’re not graced with a Gucci stand alone store, let alone Gucci clothes, so it’s a nice added bonus that it is possible to break the bank without breaking a sweat. It’s obvious, things don’t come cheap.

But it just goes to show that even a huge company like Gucci can recognize the value of the online experience and it’s users. So who will be next to step it up for fashion bloggers (and Canada)?

Images courtesy of Gucci