What images does the word “Italy” conjure for you? For some, it’s delicious pizza and pasta. For others, it’s beautiful scenery and winding roads through vineyards, all under a Tuscan sunset. But for some people, understanding the true beauty of Italy means recognizing the designs that it has sourced, especially those represented by high-end automobiles and luxury fashion. 

And Italist, a company that has partnered with more than 2,000 luxury brands to sell designer apparel at discounts, aims to leverage and cater to the vision of Italy as the fashion epicenter. It operates in what historically has been called luxury’s grey market, such that the marketplace sells authentic products at a significant discount. Many of the firms competing in this sector achieve the ability to offer discounts by engaging in strategic parallel importing, which enables them to take advantage of varying pricing across regions. If a Saint Laurent bag sells for $2,800 in mainland Europe, the same product might be offered for $3,700 in South Korea. Grey market companies make the products available to buyers in Korea at the same price they would charge to shoppers in Germany.

In many cases, national rules and regulations discourage such practices. Instead of working around these nationally imposed laws though, Italist takes a different and more straightforward approach: It pays all the customs fees and duties upfront. Thus for example, it pays sales taxes in the United States and local VAT taxes in European countries—the first grey market luxury brand to do so. Not only does this strategic choice help it avoid sanctions or fights with local authorities, but it also saves customers from having to pay those additional fees. 

Beyond its legal and pricing strategies, Italist’s product assortment represents a critical component of the value of its offering. Its curated selection is unique and proprietary. Italist especially prides itself on offering trending products, still at discounted prices, before any of its competitors can list the items. In an extension of this effort, Italist invests strongly in brand discovery, seeking out and offering luxury brands that may not be widely known—yet.

With these carefully thought out approaches to pricing, logistics, and assortments, Italist enjoys an enviable position. During a period of overall decline in luxury goods markets throughout 2024, Italist reported revenue increases. Despite rising logistics costs worldwide, including more oppressive customs fees in many nations, the company also has maintained its four-day free shipping standard worldwide.

As Italist eyes further global expansion, the company also acknowledges the challenges associated with certain markets. It has had trouble selling in China, where the central government strongly prioritizes and promotes websites run by Chinese-based companies. Doing business in the United States also appears likely to become more difficult, assuming that the new tariffs threatened by the Trump administration get imposed. The extent of the impact on Italist and its go-to-market model remains to be seen, but if the United States starts to impose substantial tariffs on products imported from Europe, U.S. consumers will likely find some of the prices they have come to expect on Italist reach unexpected levels.

Discussion Questions 

1. Have you shopped on Italist? If not, what factors would be required to get you to try it in the future?
2. If U.S. tariffs on imports really do increase, how can Italist adjust its business model to compensate?

Sources: Elizabeth Paton, “Luxury’s Gray Market Is Emerging from the Shadows,” The New York Times, August 24, 2021; “Italian Luxury Fashion at a Discount: Italist’s US Expansion,” PYMNTS, August 28, 2024; Sharon Edelson, “Italist Continues to Grow in the Luxury Ecommerce Marketplace,” Forbes, January 17, 2025