As Part of Their Continuing Fashion Strategy, Amazon Opens Massive London Photography Studio
Photo via WWD
As announced back in November, Amazon has opened its London photography studio this week, further cementing its commitment to growing within the fashion space. WWD reports that the 46,000 square foot space in the city’s Hoxton neighborhood spans two levels, with 22 photo bays and the capability to produce original video and full editorial shoots.
In a statement, VP of Amazon Fashion EU Sergio Bucher said, “Our aim is to make Amazon the best place to buy fashion online. The opening of our new fashion studio, in the heart of one of the leading fashion capitals of the world, illustrates our ambitions.”
The studio will produce over 500,000 images annually, ensuring rich fashion content for Amazon. The company has a similar, slightly smaller set up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A party today will christen the London space, in addition to unveiling model Suki Waterhouse as the face of the upcoming Amazon Fashion fall campaign in Europe.
Fashion has been a major focus of Amazon since at least 2007, when CEO Jeff Bezos reportedly said that in order to become a $200 billion company, Amazon must “learn how to sell clothes and food.” Recent fashion initiatives from the mega-company include a top-billed sponsorship of New York’s first men’s fashion week earlier this month. In addition to Shopbop and MyHabit, Amazon also owns men’s fashion site East Dane.
While WWD reports that fashion is a fast-growing category at Amazon, and “sales of fashion products across Amazon’s European business exceeded 30 million items during the second quarter” of this year, the site recently made headlines when CMO Jennie Perry told the Business of Fashion in June that despite a high-profile sponsorship of the Met Ball and rampant rumors regarding the acquisition of Net-a-Porter, Amazon is not currently focused on entering the luxury market. Instead, they’re focused on “developing an experience” for their existing 40 million fashion customers with active accounts in order to reach their $200 billion goal.
“We’re in it for the long haul,” Perry told BOF. “We’re really invested in this industry.”