Co-founded by LVMH, Prada Group, Cartier (Richemont) and OTB, the blockchain consortium intends to respond to several major challenges in the luxury sector such as the guarantee of authenticity, digital ownership and even product traceability.
Digital passports for luxury products
What do shirts have in common? Andrew of Loro Piana, the Custom di Bag from Tod’s or the sustainable jewelry line Eternal Gold of Prada? All these items have their own digital passport.
Usually accessible via a QR Code or an NFC chipthis secure digital tool aims to allow consumers to find out more about the origin of a product, whether it is the origin of the raw materials, the different stages of production or even its environmental footprint.
Non-duplicable and unfalsifiable, it also makes it possible to establish certificates of ownership, a service with high added value on the growing second-hand market: on the one hand, it offers the seller tangible proof of possession of the item and its authenticity; on the other, it aims to create bridges between the brand and the owner of the item, including in the event of resale, in order to set up communications ad hoc : proposal for a repair service, customization, etc.
While the second-hand market could generate up to 20% of the revenues of a luxury company by 2030, the business argument has something to appeal to Maisons, like Rimowa which , since last year, has systematically integrated an NFC chip on the back of its suitcases to allow the customer to generate their digital certificate of ownership.
Just three years after its official launch, Aura now boasts more than 40 million “luxury” products on its private blockchain. Last year, OTB Group notably encrypted more than 580,000 products for three of its brands (Marni, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela), a figure up +200% compared to 2022. Currently, the group Italian has some 800,000 products listed on Aura.
The Aura blockchain consortium today has around forty members mainly from the worlds of fashion, jewelry, watchmaking, automobiles and even spirits.
