Net-A-Porter opens new tech hub to attract top talent

Internet Retailing

7th Jul 2017

Yoox-Net-A-Porter Group (YNAP) has opened a new tech hub in London as part of a major €500 million investment in innovation and logistics to double the group’s size by 2020.

The 70,000-square-foot space at White City Place will bring together YNAP’s UK tech teams under one roof, with 500 staff based at the tech hub and a further 100 jobs created over the next two years.

YNAP also has a 500-strong technology team in Bologna, Italy, that collaborates closely with London.

Built to accelerate innovation and deliver best-in-class technologies, the tech hub will strengthen the group’s partnerships with luxury fashion brands and provide an unparalleled customer experience.

Work at the tech hub will include developing artificial intelligence capabilities, such as personalisation and image recognition, and creating the next wave of mobile technologies.

Innovative space to attract and retain top global talent

The tech hub was designed by award-winning British architects, Grimshaw, to inspire creative ways of working, as the group seeks to attract top digital talent.

It creates a future-focused environment reflecting YNAP’s unique position at the intersection of fashion and technology and supports seamless collaboration with the group’s other global offices.

“London is Europe’s leading centre for technology and one of the world’s fashion capitals. I am therefore delighted that YNAP will be fusing our huge strengths in these sectors to create a new tech hub in a part of the capital that is undergoing an exciting transformation,” said Federico Marchetti, CEO at YNAP Group.

Promoting digital education

YNAP has also partnered with London’s world-renowned Imperial College London to launch an initiative to teach local children from underprivileged backgrounds aged 8-14 the basics of coding.

The project, named Imperial Codelab Powered by Yoox Net-A-Porter Group, aims to increase the number of children, especially young girls, who have access to coding classes and promote the importance of digital skills.

YNAP will also play a key part in the White City regeneration project, which is transforming W12 into one of London’s most exciting live-work-play super-hubs for technology, creativity and innovation.