Global luxury brands are accelerating their embrace of Tmall, opening a flagship store on average every week

" By 2025, or perhaps even by 2022, one in every two luxury buyers in the world will be Chinese . " Recently, the French newspaper L'Echo said in a report titled "China, the paradise of the luxury world" that global luxury giants are optimistic about the Chinese market and are actively cooperating with e-commerce companies to accelerate digital transformation.

The latest data released by Tmall also proves this trend. In 2020, luxury brands opened "one brand flagship store per week on average" on Tmall . From January to March 2021, sales of Tmall's luxury platform LuxuryPavilion increased by 159% year-on-year , exceeding the growth rate for the whole of last year.

Since 2020 , Tmall has seen a concentrated influx of luxury brands. Luxury brands such as Cartier, Gucci , Prada , Balenciaga , and Armani have opened stores one after another. As of now, more than 200 brands have settled in Tmall Luxury.

This year, the pace of international fashion brands entering Tmall has further accelerated. In February, Yves Saint Laurent, a subsidiary of Kering Group, officially entered the market and launched its first limited edition handbags; in March, FARFETCH officially opened its doors, with more than 3,000 brands selling direct from overseas; and then, Van Cleef & Arpels chose Tmall for the first time . So far, all the core brands of Richemont Group have entered the market.

Last year, outbound tourism almost came to a halt due to the pandemic, and the global luxury market shrank. However, the Chinese market, which was the first to recover economic growth from the pandemic, became a "lifeline" for luxury brands . Bain pointed out in its research report on the Chinese luxury market that the global luxury market shrank by 23% in 2020, while luxury consumption in China rose by 48% against the trend . By 2025, China is expected to become the world's largest luxury market, and e-commerce channels represented by Tmall will continue to lead online growth.

"Betting" on Tmall has indeed become an important part of the recovery of luxury groups. Take Cartier's parent company Richemont Group as an example. Its sales data for the first quarter ending June 2020 showed that while sales of all product lines and regions in the jewelry department declined, sales in the Chinese market increased by 68% during the same period, of which the opening of the Cartier official flagship store on Tmall was an important driving force.

It is understood that in January 2020, Cartier opened its Tmall flagship store and set a sales record on the opening day - the JusteunClou series limited edition black ceramic bracelet was sold out within 1 minute of its launch. At the same time, Tmall continued to innovate online experience, pioneered high-end customization services on the entire platform, and held the first online live high -end jewelry exhibition on the entire network.

In order to adapt to market changes and new consumption habits, global luxury brands have accelerated their layout and investment in Tmall over the past year, including the global debut of new products and the global adjustment of scarce goods to meet the needs of Tmall consumers .

It is understood that during the 2020 Tmall Double 11 period , many luxury brands organized global and offline store stock transfers to ensure the surge in domestic demand. In January this year , more than 130 brands including Gucci, Cartier, Balenciaga, and Burberry released new "Chinese New Year" products on Tmall . After entering in February , Yves Saint Laurent not only exclusively launched new products, but also sold the " Manhattan Crocodile Embossed Shoulder Bag " that was out of stock worldwide and hard to find on Tmall.

Tmall also uses the platform's digital technology to equip luxury brand flagship stores with AR fittings, 3D store displays, online exhibitions , customized services , etc. , allowing brands to communicate with online consumers in a more friendly and youthful way .

At the end of last year, Tmall Luxury launched the interactive game product "Cloud Luxury City", attracting more than 20 luxury brands to join . Users can experience the fun VR stores, 3D interactions, AR try-ons, etc. of big brands such as IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Chloé, Burberry, Alexander McQUEEN, Coach, GentleMonster, as well as AR makeup trials of major beauty brands such as DIOR and Estee Lauder in one stop.

In addition, luxury brands also use Tmall to reach emerging groups and expand potential market users. Through Tmall, brands can reach China's richest consumer groups in one stop and cover more areas that stores have not yet covered.