The awards were presented at a star-studded, exclusive gala event at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London on 30th October

NET-A-PORTER has changed the way women from around the world shop and access luxury fashion - from pioneering the content-meets commerce model and allowing women to shop the latest luxury fashion straight from the magazine page, to shifting the runway-to-rack cycle from six months to overnight, as well as being the first luxury retailer to launch an app for the iPhone for its busy customers who want to shop anytime, anywhere, at their convenience.

Central to everything is a desire to provide its customers with unparalleled service to create the most satisfying shopping experience. In March this year, it expanded its distribution network and launched a Hong Kong-based warehouse which immediately improved on its existing express delivery timing to Asia Pacific by approximately one day and led to more cost-effective shipping prices.

Shortly afterwards, NET-A-PORTER unveiled translated websites in German, French and Mandarin allowing users to easily browse and shop the best edit of current season fashion and exclusives from over 350 designers.

NET-A-PORTER revamped its digital magazine in February to make the reading experience even stronger for its 1.5 million subscribers. For and about “women with great style and a great story,” to date the weekly-themed issues of THE EDIT have featured a strong line-up of cover stars including Natalia Vodianova, Carine Roitfeld, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jessica Alba with the premise to inspire, entertain and provide solutions for its readers. Around 20% of NET-A-PORTER’s users are accessing THE EDIT through iPads and tablets and mobiles now account for around 30% of total sales.

With this in mind, NET-A-PORTER’s recent mobile strategy has focused on optimisation and service. Its in-house mobile team is currently 20-strong consisting of designers, developers, UX Specialists, a mobile architect and testers to allow for more regular updates and enhancements.

When NET-A-PORTER unveiled multi-lingual websites its agile mobile team were able to modify its iPhone and iPad apps to match the customer’s language settings. In March, NET-A-PORTER made headlines around the world when it introduced beauty as a new category onsite.

WGSN