Apple partners with Gucci, Saint Laurent for in-store apps
Sales assistants at the luxury brand stores will use the apps to scan inventory.
Gucci is one of Kering's major brands.
Kering, the company behind luxury brands Gucci and Saint Laurent, said Monday it's teaming up with Apple to use apps in its stores.
The Paris-based company revealed the partnership in a wider announcement about its plan to develop its own online shopping sites by 2020. Its online presence has mostly been handled through a joint venture with Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) since 2013.
Apple workers already use iOS devices as mobile tills in its own stores. The first app in its new partnership will let workers at Kering-brand stores check inventory. The partnership will also focus on an iOS-based in-store payment method.
Kering's move to take more control of its online sales will give it more access to customer data, Reuters noted.
"These exciting new initiatives have been designed to meet -- and exceed -- the needs of our ... customers and to ensure we continue to offer them an exceptional experience across all channels in a fast-changing global market," Gregory Boutte, Kering's chief client and digital officer, said in the announcement.
Neither Apple nor Kering immediately responded to requests for comment.