Several overseas well-known luxury brand development in China

The engagement ceremony of luxury goods and China is being vigorously staged, and whether the wedding can be held as scheduled requires a long period of trial and error.

If you ask the top watchmakers of the world what they expect from the Chinese market, they may half jokingly say, "We don't have anything else. There is time." For real luxury goods, they are not afraid to wait because they are relative to one hundred years. History, just a few years after entering China, was insignificant. There have been well-intentioned analysts reminding luxury brands that the Chinese market is too big and the opportunities behind it are also risky. Luxury brands, on the other hand, will confidently say, “We will be careful, and we will be temperate when we expand, because we must maintain our noble lineage.”

Fight for pedigree

The European market is declining and the Chinese market has a good view. In the face of media reports on the rapid expansion of the luxury goods market, we once doubted whether luxury brands would lose their way in the Chinese market. Through interviews with us, we learned that facts are actually easier than imagined. An industry veteran said: “Generally speaking, if a brand is in a store and its annual sales reach less than 1 million, he will not consider opening a second store. The top brands should be more like this. So you see countless The brand has opened so many stores, there is indeed strong consumer support behind it.” According to industry sources, LV monthly sales in a shop can reach 40 million. The Chinese market is still bigger than we can imagine. It seems that Armani plans to open 20 to 30 new stores in the Mainland by 2008, too.

The wonderful word “discount” can best reflect the different strategies of luxury fashion brands, especially the annual sales. According to Gu Linwei, deputy general manager of Shanghai Top-branded brand mall and the United States, “The United States and the United States have two special sales every year. Each sale is for four days. The first day is a VIP special event. Sales can be maintained at around 3 million, accounting for the entire sale. 20%～30%.A lot of international top brands will participate, including Gucci, Ferragamo, etc. And Armani will come to us.These brands are generally not participating outside.Because we implement the membership system, customers The quality can be guaranteed.Our discount is generally below 40%, more than 2% discount.In the past, it was mostly 20%, now 3%, 40% off.Because the brand has become more aware of the domestic market in recent years, the source of the The control is getting better and better, and there will even be a situation where the prices increase during the sale. Gucci usually sold out the leftovers on the first day and did not participate on the third day."

Of course, different brands take different routes, which determine how they take different approaches. For example, Louis Vuitton has a limited number of products that are produced in limited quantities. Suppose a style is said to be five years, and only 1,000 pieces will be produced each year. In the global market, there will be no more production, and if it is sold out, it will only be available for ordering. Customers may be expensive to buy next year. some. After 5 years, this style is gone and new models are available for selection. Naturally, there is no clearance for limited products, and Louis Vuitton maintains its noble lineage and brand image in this way. The same high-end brand, Hermes, also takes orders.

Most brands will participate in special sales activities, and they will not think that such actions will lower their identities. Of course, it is said that there are also a handful of brands that cut off or burn off the rest of the clothes at the end of the season, like the actions of individual companies that drained the remaining milk to maintain profits during the economic crisis.

From this point of view, in the eyes of luxury brands, China is a paradise for gold everywhere, but they are very careful to dig. Hermes opened three stores in China. When someone suggested that Hermes CEO open 20 stores in 2 years, he said with a puzzled face: "No, I have not had so many stores throughout Europe." Love Ma Shi is known as the most stubborn luxury brand in the industry for its noble posture. Another message is that he is profitable in China.

The top of the pyramid

There has been such a small story about who is consuming luxury goods. The girls who work in Shanghai have a monthly income of 2,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan, but they will pay for the second half of the year to go to a store to buy a Louis Vuitton bag, and then take this bag to squeeze the bus and walk to work. . This is part of the characteristics of China's luxury consumer groups at this stage. So some people questioned, when more and more people can enjoy Louis Vuitton, he is still a luxury? Shi Ande, managing director of Louis Vuitton China, is naturally not worried. He sees this phenomenon as the recognition of his own brand value.

Li Li, a veteran who has worked in the luxury market in China for many years, also believes that this does not constitute a contradiction. Li Li is vice president of marketing for Longines China. "This issue depends on the proportion. Assume that there are 1 million people to consume this product. The absolute number is high, but China has a population of more than 1 billion. This 1 million is already at the top of the pyramid. Compared with Europe and the United States. The proportion is still much smaller, so their consumption will certainly not reduce the concept of luxury goods."

Of course, the consumer groups who bought the Louis Vuitton packages for half a year without knowing Louis Vuitton’s founder stories are not ideal customer groups for luxury goods, and these people are still common in China. People still most agree with the most famous products, either because they entered early or because they did a lot of advertising and public relations work. Yung Yee, president of IWC Asia Pacific, gave an example: “If you go to Germany, the best brand is Mercedes-Benz, and Audi in mainland China is the best. In Europe, Mercedes-Benz, in Hong Kong, is Mercedes-Benz. Many people in China I think the best watch is OMEGA. Few people know IWC is better. So I have to spend a long time explaining to consumers."

Speaking of China's consumer groups, Chen Xiong, Director of Marketing at Dunhill, said quite deeply: “It seems that the luxury and the West in the eyes of Chinese consumers are two concepts. For example, Westerners think that a good house is a good place. With good views, exquisite design, reasonable structure, and high quality, there are few new properties in Paris, and if you see a new building, you will be amazed.In China, many tall buildings that look very impressive are in my opinion. This is not a luxury at all, because they only pay attention to appearance but ignore a lot of details.The consumer groups in China have yet to be further matured, but undoubtedly, this potential is very huge.And now we have a part of our ideal Group, but this figure is not disclosed."

All luxury brands have high hopes for the Chinese market, and this high hope is not unfounded. As Gu Linwei said: "As long as there is no major change in the country's overall openness policy, this upsurge can last for 10 years. After 10 years, it will reach a certain height and level. It may stabilize because the assets are still further distributed and personally disposable. There will be more and more wealth, and some people will always try to get what they want."

What the luxury brands have to do is to slowly cultivate this market. The only Chinese phrase Yan Kou, president of IWC Asia Pacific, said during the entire interview was “step by step” and he also said twice that he seemed to know this very well. Road.

According to Goldman Sachs estimates, in 2004 China's luxury spending accounted for 12% of global sales, of which 2% came from the local market, 10% from the overseas tourism market, and overseas market consumption will increase at a rate of 20% per year. According to a survey conducted by China Fortune, the growth rate of luxury goods in Mainland China will remain at around 50% in the next five years. China will surpass Japan in 2010 and become the largest buyer of the global luxury goods market.