French luxury goods house Cartier will soon launch a flagship store on Tmall Luxury Pavilion, marking a new chapter in the brand’s e-commerce journey in China.
The brand launched its e-commerce strategy with an official Chinese website in October 2015 and will be the first Richemont-owned business to launch a standalone boutique on Alibaba Group’s dedicated channel for luxury and premium brands.
The online store will offer a wide range of jewellery, timepieces and leather goods. Two new products will also be making their exclusive global debuts on Tmall Luxury Pavilion: the new Juste un Clou small model bracelet with diamonds and Guirlande chain wallet bag.
In a statement, president and CEO of Cartier International, Cyrille Vigneron acknowledged the increasingly complex e-commerce landscape in China
“This strategic launch will provide significant opportunities for Cartier to embrace China’s fast-moving retail environment in order to further strengthen our commitment to our Chinese clients,” he added.
The store also allows Chinese consumers to engage with the brand in ever-more convenient and innovative ways, said Guillaume Alix, chief executive of Cartier China.
“In China, Cartier has the privilege to engage with a young and sophisticated audience that is used to experiencing online journeys as much as offline ones. It is critical for them to have the opportunity to interact with our Maison through a rich variety of touch points,” he added.
Pavilion shoppers will enjoy the same personalised experiences available at Cartier’s brick-and-mortar retail outlets, from complimentary engraving and embossing to gift-wrapping and customised card services for select items.
The store will officially launch with a ceremony alongside Tmall’s Super Brand Day in February, with content being teased across Weibo using the hashtag #Let’sCartier.
Despite a gloomy economic outlook overall, the luxury brands sector is being buoyed by young Chinese shoppers and their continued appetite for the social capital that accompanies ownership of luxury goods.
Chinese shoppers at home and abroad would account for 40% of the world’s spending on luxury goods by 2025, as predicted by an April report by global consultancy McKinsey & Company. China’s sales of personal luxury goods last year hit US$28.4bn, an increase of 13.6% from 2018, according to estimates by market research company Euromonitor International. That figure is forecasted to grow and reach US$43.6 bn in 2024.
Brands will need to invest more in ensuring domestic experiences, both online and offline, live up to consumer expectations – as more shoppers shift away from shopping overseas. According to a recent estimate by Bain & Company, Chinese consumers made 27% of their luxury purchases in China last year, and this share is projected to increase to 50% by 2025.
sourced from Alibaba
