This number stands for the total sum of Monthly Active Users (MAU) on the instant messaging software created by Tencent. QQ is the most used social media in China and the third most used in the world, behind Facebook (1.59 billion MAU) and WhatsApp (1 billion MAU). It also holds the title of “Most Simultaneous Users” in the Guinness World Record with 210 million users at the same time (3^rd of July 2014 at 12:52 pm).

This platform is both in international and Chinese versions and owns a plethora of features such as the possibility to read email, to play games, to read books, to do shopping, to call someone on voice chat, to write blogs, etc. It is also worthy to note that these features are of use to brands and, also, luxury brands: According to the South China Morning Post quoting Andrew Taylor (co-founder of Juwai.com), customers looking for luxury products will tend to use QQ instant messaging system to call the brands.

Source : Tencent - South China Morning Post

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Source : Jing Daily, March, 31- The Luxury Business in China

Luxury brands including Fendi, Dior, and Marc Jacobs may not have official shops on Tmall, but China’s fashionistas can now easily find them on the platform’s newly launched “Luxury Channel” created in partnership with flash sales site Mei.com.

Yesterday, the two companies held a star-studded, high-tech runway extravaganza in Shanghai to promote the new channel. Celebrities on hand for the festivities included reality star and socialite Olivia Palermo and singer Li Yuchun (Chris Lee), and the event was live-streamed on Tmall and Youku. Users watching online had the opportunity to purchase any of the 42 looks from the new platform in real time. Selected from 80 designers featured on Mei.com, the looks included brands such as Karl Lagerfeld and Moschino, with one styled by Olivia Palermo featuring pieces by Saint Laurent and Chloe. In order to capture viewers’ attention, the show also hosted a singing performance by pop star Tia Ray, while actor Yilun Sheng walked the runway in one of the outfits.

The new launch comes after Alibaba’s July 2015 investment of more than $100 million, and will feature flash sales managed by Mei.com directly on Tmall with brands that have opted to be on the platform. According to Mei.com CEO Thibault Villet, the presence on Tmall will help the flash sales company expand its customer base to consumers from lower-tier cities as well as “further expand access to technology” through Alibaba. Mei.com previously opened its own Tmall shop in December 2015.

“Currently most of our customers are Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers,” says Villet, “and here with this channel, we will be able to enlarge our reach to Tier 2 and Tier 3 customers.” He also says the channel will be targeted at younger consumers with an emphasis on more contemporary brands in Mei.com’s portfolio, with the same price points that are featured on Mei.com.

Meanwhile, the new platform dramatically expands the presence of major international luxury brands on Tmall as the site works to attract premium and international labels and fight an image of counterfeits being rampant on the site. “We’re very strongly positioned to be the gateway between luxury fashion designers and Tmall,” says Villet. The Tmall and Mei.com joint press conference for the launch emphasized the presence of international brands such as Burberry on Tmall, discussing how Burberry has pursued a “seamless experience online and offline” by matching its in-store and online prices.

Edoardo Tocco, the regional director for China at TOD’S Group, which owns Roger Vivier, TOD’S, and Hogan, was on hand to discuss why he believes the new platform will benefit his company’s brands. “Consumers in China are driven by pragmatism, convenience, and value for money,” he says. “These three key drivers are those that we should always put in the back of our minds.”

According to him, “In China, e-commerce is getting to be one of the most important channels.” This is a good thing for brands, in his opinion, because, “in the digital world, you can actually be very smart about managing in-season and off-season products with different strategies,” he states, noting that “e-commerce should be completely integrated upstream and downstream with your other channels,” in terms of product launch, availability, and logistics.

In addition to flash sales, the new platform will also soon include a cross-border component that leverages Tmall Global, says Villet. This will feature items at full international prices shipped from abroad, and is being created in response to a 10,000-customer survey by Mei.com that showed high demand for the service. Mei.com will launch a cross-border sales platform on its own site, featuring smaller niche brands from places including the United States and the UK. “We’re leveraging Tmall Global as a first point of entrance and later this summer we will have a second point of entry directly on Mei.com,” he says. He notes the importance of adding cross-border sales as the demand for international goods is “a growing trend” that is being “encouraged by the government” through new special e-commerce import zones. 

Mobile technology also remains key to sales on the platform. “The business we do is now more and more apps-driven,” says Villet, who notes that 80 percent of Mei.com’s sales are now through mobile apps as of last month. Mei.com has recently been embracing mobile-focused content-driven marketing with a newly launched content channel that publishes “Mei Magazine” featuring editorial content focusing on trends and information.

Mei.com expects these efforts to significantly expand its user base. The site currently has around 7 million members, and projects that this will grow to 10 million by the end of 2016.

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This is the amount associated to the worldwide personal luxury goods market for the last year and estimated by Bain & Co. It was expected to grow – from 2014 to 2015 – only at 1 to 2 % at constant exchange rates and 13% at current exchange rates. This market should weigh for 24% of the total amount accounted of 1 044 billions €.

Personal luxury goods includes fashion, cosmetics and jewellery amongst others.

Slowing down little by little over the years even though they are still among the top in this segment, China seems to suffer from this impact on its economy.

Chinese’s preferences now went to a less materialistic way of living and are favoring traveling or spas, purchases that influences their well-being. Also, Chinese prefer to shop abroad, as the consumption tax and import tariff impede their spending and since they are willing to buy original and authentic goods that they are most likely to find outside their country.

Source : Bain & Co, Global Luxury Report, 2015

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FROM L2 / THE DAILY THURSDAY / MARCH,31, 2016

Innisfree is one of the most popular Korean beauty brands in China, as evidenced by its high search volume on Baidu, Taobao, and Youku. (Innisfree was the top Beauty brand according to both the Taobao and Baidu Indexes.) L2 research finds the success of Innisfree to be a result of robust digital properties on the brand site, mobile, in-store and on social media.

Innisfree maintains a sophisticated brand site designed for consumers to spend time on; a gamified cross-channel loyalty program, user-generated content syndicated from multiple social platforms, and video libraries are among the features offered. Furthermore, the brand site ensures product research and purchases are seamless with grid pages that include quick-view and product pages featuring reviews and recently-viewed products. The brand’s site is also mobile optimized with swipeable carousels and mobile-specific offers.

Social media also plays an important role in Innisfree’s success. Consumers can create a customer profile by logging in with their Weibo, QQ, or Alipay accounts. These accounts allow Innisfree to create an omnichannel loyalty program that tracks online and offline purchases. Users can also gain points by engaging on social media or checking into a brand site.

Innisfree’s Spring 2015 social campaign “Summer Love”, featuring Korean influencers Lee Minho and Yoona, became one of the most successful campaigns among Korea Beauty peers. The campaign promoted the Innisfree Summer Foundation Cushion with five videos on Youku with the storyline of a young couple. The two most viewed videos from the campaigned averaged 181,000 views, more than four times the brand’s average video view count. The Youku campaign was supported by desktop and mobile advertising, as well as WeChat and Sina Weibo promotions. The most successful WeChat post was viewed 10,600 times while the campaign’s Sina Weibo post remains the brand’s most engaging post with 2,000 interactions. But much of the success is evident in the sheer number of users who spread the word; the campaign hashtag #innisfree received 17.7 million impressions and 36,000 mentions on Weibo. Yet, Innisfree expanded the campaign beyond just promotions, and connected the buzz to shopping. The popular couple remains featured on the Innisfree Tmall site to promote products and maintain brand buzz.

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Endri Hasanaj | Mar 25

With the luxury ecommerce market set to reach $41.8 billion by 2019, navigating the online space is becoming increasingly crucial for high-end retailers. Whereas luxury brands have traditionally set themselves apart by creating an exclusive in-store experience, the significant shift to online over recent years has brought with it a new set of customer expectations. Luxury vendors now face the challenge of redefining their approach in order to stay relevant and ensure they continue to reach their target audience.

Traditionally, luxury retail has thrived on brand loyalty; customers in the market for a high-end product would typically have a brand in mind and go directly to that particular store to make their purchase. A sale would be dependent not on price factors or product specs, but rather on a first-class in-store customer experience. However, the internet has made it easier than ever to run comprehensive product, price and vendor comparisons, meaning that today’s shoppers are not only extremely well-informed, but accustomed to choice.

As highlighted by this Technavio report regarding the end of last year, this has led to a notable shift in luxury consumer patterns; high-end shoppers in the online sphere strongly favor a multi-brand environment over single-brand sites. Convenience is now a pivotal factor, and one that online marketplaces are evidently fulfilling more successfully than their uni-brand counterparts. Chrono24, for example, serves as a one-stop-shop for luxury watches, offering competitive pricing, convenient delivery and extensive brand diversity. A quick look at their range here – from Rolex to Cartier to Omega – shows that they are effectively eliminating the need to shop around for these brands individually.

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In order for retailers to better understand the process of experience-first luxury design, co-founders Jeremy Bergstein and Dave Skaff outlined five steps for architects, designers and retail companies to create thought-out spaces from the onset of the build process:

1- Consider the ‘New Retail Architecture’ – Physical architecture and digital architecture have to get to know each other. Enterprise technology influences almost every element of the modern customer experience. These systems are too critical to the core service the store delivers to ignore early on. You need to build on a strong foundation before you can architect any type of shoppable brand space.

2- Think Beyond the Space – Customers are interacting with your brand inside and outside of store lease lines. Understand early on how your customers are engaging with the brand so you can enchant them and build experiences to meet them where they are.

3- Leverage Historical Data – Don’t underestimate the power of data, and be prepared to make changes along the way. Data can inform everything from hyper-optimized regional store marketing and assortments to store displays, experiences and layout.

4- Give Customers What They Want – Now that you know your customer, “architect” your space so guests will stay longer and give them an opportunity to have a personal moment with brand and product.

5- Allow For Flexibility – Remember that key elements like flexible checkout and fulfillment are now table-stakes for a complete customer experience. Flexibility impacts physicality in an store environment.

The Science Project (TSP) is a luxury retail design firm based in New York City. From Kate Spade to Perry Ellis and Barneys New York, they have continually pushed the boundaries of what truly defines “experience” in meaningful, well-thought-out ways that work across the digital, data and built environments and push the traditional boundaries of architecture.

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