(Yicai Global) July 8 -- Chinese e-tail giant JD.Com plans to shut down its independently operated luxury marketplace Toplife this month in order to merge the platform with British counterpart Farfetch.

Toplife will cease to operate on July 21, according to the Beijing-based firm. The Toplife app and website already display notices announcing the closure and directing users to the Farfetch website and mobile app.

JD.Com revealed at the end of February that it would merge the two platforms and link to Farfetch from the JD app in a deal that Jing Daily reported would cost USD50 million. At the same time, JD boss Richard Liu stepped down from Farfetch's board and Chief Strategy Officer Liao Jianwen took his place.

Portuguese billionaire Jose Neves founded London-base Farfetch in 2008, bringing together more than 3,200 global brands and partnering 375 luxury labels and 614 boutique retailers.

It received USD397 million in funding from JD in May 2017, when Liu joined the board of directors, and went public on the New York Stock Exchange in September at an issue price of USD20.  Its share price remains around the same value, giving the firm a market cap of about USD8.4 billion.

Editor: James Boynton