By Andy Young

Two years after launching its e-commerce website, Moët Hennessy Australia has announced that it is changing its digital strategy, and subsequently the website will close later this month.

The Moët Hennessy Collections website launched in 2014 and immediately the company faced a backlash from retailers who delisted Moët Hennessy products, viewing the website as competition. Some retailers also criticised the move, saying that direct sales by suppliers to consumers "never works".

In announcing the decision to close the website, Moët Hennessy Australia's managing director, Andrew McLaren, said: “In order to exceed consumers’ desires through new and unexpected experiences, MHA will commence a new phase in our customer experience strategy – particularly in respect of the way our consumers engage and interact digitally with our brands.

“As part of the strategy, we are transforming our e-commerce division into a Digital Customer Experience Division. This change will ensure that our capabilities remain in targeted brand communication, events and training, and that we continue to create great brand experiences for our customers. There will be no changes to the personnel in this team.”

Regarding the Moët Hennessy Collections website, McLaren added: “The project enabled the company to open up a new channel to interact directly with consumers, to trial different formats and to launch exclusive products. The insights we’ve gained to date are significant, and one thing we can be assured of is that consumers of luxury brands have never been so well educated or informed.

“We are working through a program of informing all of our stakeholders about the change in strategy this week. I look forward to sharing our new strategy and developing mutually beneficial digital plans on top of existing business platforms to ensure our brands’ continuing success."

The company said that the new digital strategy is one that "creates broader and more enriching relationships with its customers through collaboration with its trade partners". 

The Moët Hennessy Collections website will close on 28 April 2016.

The Shout Team

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