London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

Brands from Ferrari to Nike rush toward 'metaverse' future

Brands from Ferrari to Nike rush toward 'metaverse' future

The metaverse vision for the internet is far from reality, but brands from Ferrari to Nike are already rushing in to experiment and build an audience, in part for fear of missing out.

The clamor over virtual goods comes amid feverish predictions that the metaverse - a virtual reality version of the internet - will eventually replace the web of today.

But some virtual worlds, for example the Fortnite and Minecraft games or the Roblox platform, are already open for business.

"I think a lot of it is experimentation," said Ryan Mullins, founder of virtual sneaker app Aglet.

"If it turns out that we make a couple of grand or something like that... great, but I think a lot of (companies) are thinking 'innovate, disrupt or die,'" he added, echoing a Silicon Valley ethos of sometimes brutal evolution.

Fashion has been at the forefront, with a line of digital clothing from Uniqlo on Minecraft or Balenciaga outfits and sneakers available in Fortnite.

Designers are also entering the new field of NFTs -- non-fungible tokens that are unique digital objects such as drawings or animations.

"This represents a massive opportunity for brands, who will get in early and will be able to build persistent presence... on a truly global scale," said Christina Wootton, vice president of partnerships at Roblox.



- Welcome to 'Nikeland' -

During the Halloween holiday, Mexican fast-food chain Chipotle opened a virtual and ephemeral restaurant on Roblox, the first of its kind.

The brand offered coupons to get a free burrito in a real-life restaurant, but also virtual costumes to dress up one's avatar and a treasure hunt.

In July, Ferrari launched a replica of its new 296 GTB model with Fortnite, which will not be available in the real world until 2022 but could be driven in the game.

Nike had already opened "Nikeland," a virtual showroom on Roblox, and announced Monday it has bought digital sneaker company RTFKT -- pronounced "artifact."

For companies that exist primarily in the physical world, the metaverse concept is first and foremost a giant laboratory with direct avenues to the young demographic prized by advertisers.

"Revenues will come if this thing sticks around, but we want to make sure that our brand is in these early environments," said Mullins from Aglet.

As the first restaurant in Roblox, Chipotle said it sees future "opportunities to directly drive sales."

The metaverse is also a wealth of data, offering valuable insights into the perception of a product, even if it doesn't yet exist in the real world.

To fully control the environment in which the brand is introduced, some companies like Louis Vuitton have created their own version of the metaverse.

To celebrate its 200th anniversary, the brand launched in August "Louis the Game," which includes a hunt for NFTs by digital art pioneer Beeple.



- 'Authentic' in metaverse -

However, since there is still no unified platform yet, users cannot carry a Gucci bag bought on Roblox over to other games like Sandbox or Animal Crossing.

This is one of the priorities for Mark Zuckerberg, who leads Facebook's parent company that was re-baptized "Meta" in October to signal the platform's metaverse shift.

Since the world's leading social network unveiled its ambitions, "things have accelerated even further," said consultant Cathy Hackl, who has been contacted by many brands seeking metaverse advice.

"Not every brand needs to jump in to the metaverse," she said, noting though that firms have to be at least familiar with it.

Unless companies build their own virtual world, they will need to follow the codes of each platform on which they appear.

"It's about showing up and trying to be authentic in the space," said Mullins.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×