Farfetch Tries to Reach a Little Further

José Neves’s online retail company, Farfetch, connects tiny, ultrahigh-end clothing boutiques in 30 countries to shoppers around the world. Farfetch is the site to visit if you simply must have that $13,140 rainbow-patterned, sleeveless llama fur coat by Marni delivered posthaste to your yacht in Capri.

As with any popular clothier, Neves’s challenge is to widen his business without losing the patina of relative exclusivity. (His site’s slogan is “Unfollow.”) In March, Farfetch announced $86 million in funding from the likes of Condé Nast and DST Global at a valuation of $1 billion. It’s spent the rest of 2015 pouring that money into expansion, adding 250 workers to its existing 750 to scout boutiques and business lines. Neves says his company will sell more than $500 million worth of clothes and accessories this year, up from $300 million in 2014.