Overview
As Farfetch grew globally, it needed more engineering capacity to support performance, stability and continuous product development. emagine provided a dedicated team that helped scale delivery, strengthen collaboration and support the platform at enterprise scale.
The Challenge
Farfetch is a British-Portuguese online luxury fashion platform connecting customers to more than 700 boutiques and brands worldwide. Its business depends on multilingual e-commerce platforms operating across global markets, with customers, partners and internal teams spread across Europe, Asia and the Americas. As the company grew, so did the demands placed on its engineering organisation.
This was not a platform that could afford slow delivery or inconsistent performance. Farfetch supported more than 1,500 brands and more than 2 million customers, while processing over 3,000 transactions per second. At that scale, platform stability, performance and continuous feature development were all business-critical. Engineering capacity needed to grow in step with demand.
The challenge was not simply one of volume. Farfetch needed specialised software engineering talent that could contribute quickly and work effectively within an existing, distributed organisation. Recruiting and retaining that level of talent at the pace required was difficult, especially while maintaining the standards expected of a global luxury e-commerce platform.
At the same time, delivery had to remain closely aligned to the product roadmap. New feature development could not come at the expense of refactoring, corrective improvements or continuous integration work. The platform needed engineering support across the full development lifecycle, with a model that could balance flexibility, quality and close collaboration across multiple regions.
Farfetch therefore needed more than additional developers. It needed a structured engineering model that could expand capacity, integrate with internal management and engineering units, and support remote collaboration across international offices without losing delivery quality. The challenge was to scale engineering in a way that strengthened the platform, supported continuous innovation and remained workable at global scale.
The Solution
emagine established a dedicated Development-as-a-Service team in Portugal to support Farfetch’s engineering organisation. The aim was clear: provide scalable engineering capacity that could integrate directly with Farfetch’s existing setup, support the platform across the full development lifecycle and maintain high delivery quality in a distributed international environment.
The team was made up of experienced software engineers familiar with Farfetch’s technology stack. Rather than operating at a distance, they worked closely with the client’s management and engineering units, helping create a model that combined additional capacity with alignment, continuity and delivery confidence.
Phase 1: Build a dedicated engineering model
The first step was to establish a dedicated team that could scale with Farfetch’s needs. emagine set up a Development-as-a-Service model in Portugal, giving the client access to experienced engineers in a structure designed for long-term collaboration rather than short-term augmentation.
This mattered because Farfetch needed more than isolated technical support. It needed a team that could become part of the wider engineering organisation, understand the product environment and contribute consistently across multiple workstreams. The dedicated model created that foundation.
Phase 2: Integrate closely with Farfetch’s teams
Once established, the team integrated directly with Farfetch’s management and engineering units. Clear communication channels and structured collaboration supported effective remote cooperation between international stakeholders, helping the distributed setup work as one joined-up delivery environment.
This close integration helped maintain alignment with Farfetch’s product roadmap while supporting consistent delivery quality. It also reduced the friction that can come with global engineering models, where coordination often becomes harder as capacity expands.
Phase 3: Support the full development lifecycle
The team worked across the full development lifecycle, not just isolated delivery tasks. That included new feature development, refactoring, corrective improvements and continuous integration enhancements.
This breadth was important. Farfetch needed to keep moving forward with product development while also improving and maintaining the underlying platform. By contributing across both new and existing work, the team helped the business balance innovation, platform health and delivery speed.
Phase 4: Scale with Agile structure and clear governance
Agile methodologies were applied throughout the engagement to support pace, quality and visibility. Combined with structured governance and clear communication, this gave Farfetch a delivery model that could scale across international offices without losing control or consistency.
Over time, the partnership expanded engineering capabilities and supported Farfetch’s continued digital growth. What began as a way to add engineering capacity became a long-term collaboration supporting performance, platform improvement and sustained delivery at global scale.
Transformation timeline
Phase 1
Build a dedicated engineering model
Phase 2
Integrate closely with Farfetch’s teams
Phase 3
Support the full development lifecycle
Phase 4
Scale with Agile structure and clear governance
The Results
The partnership expanded Farfetch’s engineering capacity while supporting the performance, stability and delivery pace needed for global e-commerce growth.
+40
Engineers were deployed through a dedicated Development-as-a-Service model, giving Farfetch the scalable capacity needed to support a growing global platform.
3,000 transactions per second
The engagement helped support a platform processing more than 3,000 transactions per second, contributing to the performance and stability required for high-volume e-commerce.
2 million customers
With support for more than 1,500 brands and over 2 million customers, the team enabled ongoing feature development and platform improvements at enterprise scale.
14 international offices
Structured Agile delivery and clear governance supported collaboration across international offices, creating a long-term partnership that expanded Farfetch’s engineering capabilities.