Reverse reasoning: How did the American DTC brand Senreve conquer the Chinese market?

Major DTC brands have been widely welcomed by Western consumers for their high quality and low price. However, in the Chinese market, which is dominated by mass production, the development of DTC brands can only be said to be in its infancy. However, it is interesting that Chinese consumers have been the first to come into contact with international DTC brands and have gradually accepted this business concept.

Based on this, Senreve, an American luxury leather goods brand, followed the footsteps of its American DTC counterparts, clothing brand Everlane and footwear brand All Birds, and resolutely entered the Chinese market.

The first step: entering the Chinese market

Senreve is located in Silicon Valley in San Francisco, California. It relies heavily on data analysis to provide correct guidance before planning future development routes.

As part of its expansion plan in Asia, Senreve held two pop-up events in Hong Kong earlier this year. Sherry Ho, the brand's head of Asia market , said: "China has always been part of our expansion plan, but the timing and method of entering the Chinese market are more important."

In order to successfully enter the Chinese market, the Senreve brand spent two years getting familiar with the functions of WeChat and conducting pilot tests before finally taking action.

Although the monopoly trend of international luxury brands has been consistent, DTC brands are also working hard to win the favor of consumers. After all, many consumers choose to show their taste and exquisite life through niche fashion brands.

From any perspective, Senreve 's global customers are women with a certain level of spending power. However , in China, Senreve's target consumers can be further divided into three groups:

Professional women in first-tier cities prefer low-key, multifunctional handbags;

Millennial women who have become mothers have a higher spending power than the Chinese average and want both practicality and fashion;

Fashion gurus who keep up with fashion trends often "plant grass" for some small and bright bags through KOLs on Xiaohongshu .

Second level: Adapting to China’s “rules of the game”

One of the charms of DTC brands is the high transparency and low cost obtained by eliminating the "middlemen" and platforms, which is also how Senreve has always operated. However, in China, Senreve has to "play" a different game.

Commonly used Chinese e-commerce platforms such as JD.com, Taobao, and Pinduoduo, as well as social e-commerce platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin, are all customer acquisition channels that Senreve cannot avoid. For this reason, Senreve chose to cooperate with JD.com and Xiaohongshu to expand brand awareness and move towards localization.

Sherry Ho has a deep understanding of the complexity of the Chinese market. One of her insights is that a good balance can be achieved between seeking cooperation with external teams and maintaining one's own internal team in China.

For example, when Senreve decided to sell products through WeChat mini-programs and redirect the sales process to the company's product backend, it quickly decided to invest in the Tmall platform with the help of a third party. When the time was right, Senreve decided to take back control by developing its own internal team.

Sherry Ho believes that keeping the brand's marketing operations in-house ensures consistency across the globe.

In addition, there are many differences between China's Tmall platform and Amazon in terms of how to discover brands and interact with brands. The information, opinions and pictures provided by consumers on Tmall are even as much as those shared on social media. The promotion of KOC (key opinion consumers) can play a greater positive role in promoting the brand's reputation and market image.

This is why Senreve is so devoted to Xiaohongshu. Sherry Ho said: "Xiaohongshu is a very powerful discovery channel. People like to scroll and search for reviews on Xiaohongshu and do careful research. Therefore, Senreve needs to publish a large amount of rich content on Xiaohongshu. "

The third level: Conduct omni-channel marketing

When a foreign brand enters a target market, it may encounter more or less obstacles such as consumers "supporting domestic products". Therefore, for Senreve, creating a brand image that is more acceptable to local consumers is also a major challenge it faces.

In this regard, omnichannel marketing may be a good solution for Senreve.

One of Senreve 's offline shopping malls is Chengdu , a new first-tier city in China . Sherry Ho said: " Compared with online brands, local stores are more likely to be given a brand reputation. For customers who have learned about Senreve through Xiaohongshu , being exposed to the products in offline shopping malls can help strengthen their perception of product quality and price. "

In addition to offline stores, Senreve has also prepared a number of "workshop roadshows" . This approach can not only bring brand experience to consumers, but also take this opportunity to understand their consumption preferences.

As it turns out, as Chinese consumers' lives and consumption gradually return to normal, China has become Senreve's fastest growing market: the sales share of the Chinese market in Asia has increased from the initial 10%-20% to 50%.

It is reported that Senreve's next move is to adjust its logistics business and move stores from Tmall Global to Tmall China to better adapt to the consumer needs of the local Chinese market.

From the example of Senreve, we can see that when a brand "breaks into" a new market, it is essential to conduct market research in the early stage and to have an organic grasp of major marketing and sales channels. I hope that sellers can also successfully break through the "many barriers" on their own "gold rush" and move towards the other side of victory!

Senreve

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