Philipp Plein becomes the first major fashion group to accept cryptocurrencies

Major fashion house Philipp Plein, based in London, has started accepting 15 different types of cryptocurrency, expecting the biggest impact to be through its online channels over in-store purchases. The company’s founder believes that other leading brands will follow his suit.

Switzerland-based Philipp Plein Group in early August announced accepting various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether, at both its in-store and online purchases. The brand has partnered with Coinify, a crypto payments platform owned by Voyager Digital.

Plein expects the biggest revenue through the online channels, which are already its most lucrative, turning over a predicted 100 million euros this year.

“I believe that cryptocurrencies are the future, and my team and I have made a major commitment in time and resources, performing all necessary system modifications in order to adopt this new type of currency,” the company’s founder Philipp Plein said.

The often controversial brand, which is known for its over-the-top aesthetic, has long been an early adopter of technology in the fashion world and was one of the first brands to develop an in-house, e-commerce platform.

Although the reasons that make accepting cryptos attractive to Philipp Plein are the same that might make it less desirable to some of the other major fashion and luxury groups, such as LVMH and Chanel. As crypto now is mainly used for investing and trading, it is not clear how many purchases in major brands actually occur using cryptocurrencies. The biggest value may be in adding some cutting-edge flavor to your brand, and who better than a fashion label to do that.

Meanwhile, other luxury brands have already been experimenting with crypto adoption. Earlier this month, Burberry launched a non-fungible token (NFT) collection in Blankos Block Party, a game designed by Mythical games. In April, LVMH, Prada, Richemont, and others announced the Aura Blockchain Consortium, a platform designed to verify the authenticity and provenance of luxury goods. A few luxury and beauty brands, such as Hublot and Franck Muller, are accepting cryptocurrency for payment.

Image source: https://www.tatler.ru/fashion/nedelya-mody-v-nyu-jorke-2018-gosti-pokaza-i-vecherinki-philipp-plein