Selected by the Luxe.CO Panel of Jury, the marketing cases of the following three brands have been included in this issue of the Luxe.CO Biweekly Ranking Most Remarkable Cases list:
- French luxury brand Hermès
- Italian luxury brand Valentino
- Italian high fashion brand Max Mara
From September 1, 2023, to September 15, 2023, the Luxe.CO Biweekly Ranking compiled a total of 44 updates from 41 luxury brands in the Chinese market. These updates encompass marketing activities (14), store expansions/renovations (15), pop-up store launches (14), and online channel developments (1).
— Recommended Cases —
1) French luxury brand Hermès
Case: Hosting a petit h Exhibition in Beijing
Hermès held a petit h exhibition at its boutique in Beijing’s China World Mall, showcasing creative works crafted at the Petit h creative workshop. Petit h, Creative Director Godefroy de Virieu himself, was also present.
The exhibition space was created by the Chinese architecture firm CATS and featured a poetic ambiance constructed with reeds and clay. The products included a giant panda landscape sculpture, dragon-shaped bookshelves, bear-shaped sculptures, and seating benches, among others. The exhibition was open to the public from September 8th to September 23rd.
Petit h, founded by Pascale Mussard, a sixth-generation member of the Hermès family in 2010, is a creative workshop that is one of the 16 product categories of Hermès. Its collections are primarily composed of accessories and home products made from leftover materials or scraps from other Hermès departments.
2) Italian luxury brand Valentino
Case: Collaborating with “Sleep No More” for an Immersive Performance
Valentino partnered with the immersive theater production “Sleep No More” for its Shanghai edition, presenting the immersive performance “BLACK TIE” at The McKinnon Hotel in Shanghai on September 12th.
The Shanghai edition of “Sleep No More” is a joint production by Punchdrunk and SMG Live, the Shanghai Media and Entertainment Group. This collaboration marks the third time the two have worked together, following their 2021 partnership, and it is the first time the production is open to the public.
In this performance, dynamic and captivating dancers replaced models to showcase the brand’s latest Fall/Winter 2023 collection. The audience had the opportunity to experience Valentino’s design details and brand charm in a more up-close and immersive manner.
3) Italian high fashion brand Max Mara
Case: Collaborating with Butterful & Creamorous for a Co-Branded Food Collection
Max Mara collaborated with the bakery brand Butterful & Creamorous to launch a food collection called More than the Bread and hosted a holiday pop-up market at Xintiandi Style in Shanghai.
Butterful & Creamorous, known for its iconic bakery products, has a significant young customer base. This collaboration helped Max Mara enhance its visibility and interaction among young consumers. Max Mara, a globally renowned high-end fashion brand, also elevated Butterful & Creamorous’ brand profile. The lighthearted and fun marketing approach brought new traffic and awareness to both brands.
— Marketing Highlights —
4) Italian luxury brand Gucci emptied its official accounts on Xiaohongshu and Douyin social platforms. Meanwhile, the official Weibo account was set to be visible only for six months and had no display content. (This move signals a comprehensive brand refresh.)
5) Gucci Art Lab, under the umbrella of Italian luxury brand Gucci, arrived at the West Village in Chengdu. The space showcased the brand’s full range of products, including clothing, accessories, bags, jewelry, and watches. It displayed the making process of iconic products such as Jackie 1961, Horsebit 1955, and bamboo handles, offering customized services to invited customers.
6) Italian luxury brand Prada launched the “Seed Project” for the Autumn/Winter 2023 season. It collaborated with Shanghai’s Wang’er Flower Shop, Qinhuangdao’s Aranya Kemile Flower Shop, Guangzhou’s DAWN OF MOUNTAIN Flower Shop, Chengdu’s biboROOT Flower Shop, and Beijing’s Zhiyu Flower Shop to randomly distribute cornflower, poppy, and cosmos flower seeds. The event ran from September 14th to 16th.
7) French high-end jewelry and watchmaker Chaumet held an immersive interactive experience exhibition, TIARA DREAM, at the North Bund International Customer Center in Shanghai. The exhibition will run until October 15th.
8) The 2023 Watches and Wonders event took place in Shanghai from September 12th to 17th. Luxury watch brands such as A.Lange & Söhne, Cartier, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Ulysse Nardin, and Vacheron Constantin participated.
9) Italian luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli offered exclusive customization services at the Lane Crawford Beijing Financial Street store from September 14th to 16th.
10) Spanish luxury brand Loewe held its 2023 Autumn/Winter fashion presentation and evening event at the West Bund Art Center in Shanghai.
11) Canadian premium down jacket brand Canada Goose launched a Mid-Autumn Festival-themed event where the public could create hand-painted folding fans at the brand’s offline stores. The event ran from September 12th to 16th.
12) Italian high fashion brand Max Mara celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Teddy Bear coat with a series of pop-up events, at Hangzhou Gaojia Garden.
13) Swiss luxury watchmaker Vacheron Constantin hosted a “Floral Autumn” flower arrangement event in Ningbo Heyi Avenue Shopping Center.
14) French luxury jewelry brand Van Cleef & Arpels selected a variety of pieces from its museum collection to present the “Golden Nature” themed exhibition at its flagship store in Beijing’s China World Trade Center. The exhibition will run until November 2023.
— Store Expansions/Renovations —
1) French high-end jewelry brand Boucheron opened its first boutique in Guangzhou in Guangzhou’s Taikoo Hui.
2) Italian luxury brand Ferragamo opened a boutique in Guangzhou’s Taikoo Hui.
3) French luxury brand Chloé opened its first boutique in Hunan, located in Changsha IFS.
4) French luxury brand Maison Margiela opened a boutique in Hangzhou’s Kerry Center.
5) German fashion brand Jil Sander opened its first boutique in Hangzhou, located in Hangzhou’s Kerry Center.
6) Swiss luxury watch and jewelry brand Chopard opened its first boutique in Ningbo, located in the Ningbo Heyi Avenue Shopping Center. The temporary HappyCafé was also set up outside the store.
7) French high-end accessory brand Roger Vivier opened a boutique in Shenzhen’s MixC World.
8) British luxury footwear brand Jimmy Choo opened a boutique in Shenzhen’s MixC World.
9) Swiss luxury watch brand Longines opened a boutique in Shenzhen’s Buji MixC World.
10) French luxury brand Chloé opened a boutique in Beijing’s WF Central.
11) British luxury footwear brand Jimmy Choo opened its first boutique in Jiangxi, located in Nanchang Wushang MALL.
12) Italian luxury brand Balmain opened its first store in Central China, located in Nanchang Wushang MALL.
13) Italian luxury brand Gucci reopened its flagship store in Taipei 101 Shopping Center, featuring a complete range of brand categories, including clothing, leather goods, accessories, footwear, fragrances, jewelry, watches, and eyewear.
14) French luxury footwear brand Christian Louboutin opened a boutique in Suzhou’s Outlets.
15) Swiss luxury watch brand TAG Heuer opened a boutique in Shenyang’s MixC World.
— Pop-up Store Highlights —
1) To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Teddy Bear coat, Italian high fashion brand Max Mara initiated a series of pop-up events, starting at MixC Shenyang.
2) French luxury brand Louis Vuitton opened a jewelry and watch pop-up event in Shenyang’s MixC World.
3) Spanish luxury brand Loewe opened a pop-up store for its 2023 Autumn/Winter collection at Xintiandi in Shanghai.
4) Italian high fashion brand Max Mara opened a pop-up store at Grand Gateway 66 in Shanghai to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Teddy Bear coat.
5) Italian high fashion brand Max Mara opened a pop-up store at Galaxy Macau to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Teddy Bear coat.
6) Italian luxury brand Versace opened a pop-up store in Shenzhen Bay MixC World.
7) French high-end accessory brand Roger Vivier opened a pop-up store at Beijing’s China World Mall.
8) Swiss luxury watch brand Rolex opened a pop-up store at Beijing apm Shopping Center.
9) Swiss luxury watch brand Breguet held a national tour of the 2023 Breguet Type XX series in WF Central, Beijing.
10) Italian luxury brand Marni opened a pop-up store at David Plaza in Zhengzhou.
11) Italian high fashion brand Curiel held the “Roaming Milan” limited-time exhibition in Wuhan Wushang MALL.
12) Italian luxury brand Valentino opened a pop-up store at Hankyu Department Store in Ningbo.
13) Italian high fashion brand GIADA held a GIADA TIMELESS exhibition at SKP in Xi’an.
14) Italian luxury menswear brand Ermenegildo Zegna opened a pop-up space at Taikoo Li Chengdu.
— Online Channels —
1) High-end Chinese jewelry brand Qeelin officially launched its flagship store on the JD.com platform.
| Image Credit: Brand official WeChat/Weibo
| Editor: Elisa
