China’s E-commerce:Luxury Brands’Spring or Winter?

When JD.com announced last week it was making a nearly US$400-million investment in British luxury platform Farfetch， it put itself in the fast lane for its growth as a luxury e-tail player. But it also gained another valuable resource in its competition against Chinas ecommerce leader， Alibaba， and its online shopping platform， Tmall.

Theres a reason JD.com has its sights set high： according to a new insight report by digital intelligence firm L2， the luxury segment remains one part of e-commerce that still offers huge market potential， as many international brands have yet to fully take advantage of Chinas online shopping boom.

L2s report shows that out of the 87 luxury brands they benchmark， only 24 percent have an official presence on Tmall so far in 2017 – a rise of just one percent compared to last year. On JD.com， only 10 percent of high-end brands have an official presence.

Luxury brands everywhere have been slow to adopt e-commerce， but this trepidation has been especially strong in China. Online retail giants like Alibaba and JD.com are mass-market shopping platforms and thus dont offer the environment that e-tailers specializing in luxury would. Both companies do offer luxury brand channels， but are still having to work hard to build up their reputation with international brands.

According to L2s “Insight Report China： Alibaba”， much of this work for Alibaba has centered around cracking down on counterfeit sellers and communicating this progress to international brands， but like JD.com， it has also meant a series of investments in both companies and models that have luxury retail at their forefront.

In 2015， Alibaba invested in Mei.com， a local flash sales site that had established relationships with more than 280 luxury designers， and together they created a luxury channel that broadcasts fashion shows highlighting looks from Mei. com brands and inspiring consumers to buy what they see on Tmall. More recently， Alibaba enhanced its luxury portfolio with an investment in Intime， a mainland China department store chain. Through Intimes store on the Tmall platform， Tmall hosts a variety of luxury brands， including Burberry， Gucci， and Michael Kors.

“We see the way Alibaba is trying to work around this obstacle where brands wont open official stores on Tmall， so theyre going through other retailers to get these products on the site，” says Liz Flora， editor of Asia-Pacific research at L2.“With the Intime investment， theyre also able to leverage the omnichannel retail model where theyll be integrating the on-line platform with the offline store.”endprint

L2 cites a recent instance where Alibaba technology helped create a conceptual fashion boutique in Intime called Jihood， that gave brick and mortar shoppers a virtual experience. At Jihood， shoppers could scan radio-frequency identification （RFID） tags on an item of clothing in a “magic mirror”that digitally displayed the product information. The adoption of the omnichannel model in China goes both ways—at its three-story Shanghai flagship， Burberry is carrying out a similar digital and audiovisual experience， according to a recent report by management consulting firm Oliver Wyman.

Alibabas Intime investment is part of its “new retail”model， a strategy that， aside from its benefits for mass-market retail， holds great promise for the luxury sector， where brands can benefit from augmenting online retail with a comprehensive range of digital， offline and in-store experiences. Flora says， “Its a way of attracting luxury brands and retailers to the site and show that even though its a cross-sector mass market retailer， it can bring new value to the luxury market.”

As brands in L2s recent Digital IQ Index： Luxury China report increase their e-commerce presence in China， most are still holding back from opening official stores on Alibabas B2C behemoth Tmall. Instead， they are favoring direct-toconsumer （DTC） e-commerce and pure-play luxury e-tailers to reach Chinas online luxury shoppers， with a small but growing number making a foray into WeChat sales. The percentage of Index brands in the Watches & Jewelry and Fashion categories offering DTC e-commerce on their China site has more than doubled since 2014 among those in all studies from 2014-2017. Salvatore Ferragamo， Officine Panerai， Tissot， and Chloé are among those that recently jumped onboard the China e-commerce bandwagon with new online shops on their Chinese sites. On the full list of brands from the 2017 study alone， 40% of Fashion brands and 38% of Watches & Jewelry brands now offer DTC sales on their China sites.

While high-end brands have been heavily courted by Tmall， they remain wary of joining the mass-market platform despite its dominance of the B2C e-commerce market in China. The percentage of brands on Tmall in the Indexs Fashion category actually decreased from 2016 to 2017 as Coach departed from the platform， while the Watches & Jewelry category saw slight growth. As brands have been deterred by controversies over fakes on Alibaba platforms， the e-commerce giant has been making public efforts to convince them that it is cracking down on counterfeit sellers.endprint

Although more than half of Index brands lack both DTC and Tmall sales， international fashion e-tailers such as Net-a-Porter， Yoox， and Farfetch are expanding the online availability of Index brands in China， especially in the Fashion category. A total of 83% of Fashion brands in the 2017 Index are available on Farfetch in China， while 77% can be found on Yoox and 55% on Net-a-Porter. Brands that dont officially distribute to these sites can still easily be found online in China. This is thanks especially to the gray market and Chinese luxury e-tailers such as Secoo and Xiu.com， which source products from a range of distributors and each sell 98% of Fashion brands.

Tmall had a few luxury wins over the past year as watch- maker Tag Heuer became LVMHs first hard luxury brand on the platform in February 2017. With several cosmetics brands already on Tmall， LVMH appears to be warming to the platform， although it is yet to be seen what the upcoming launch of its new luxury multi-brand ecommerce site 24 Sèvres has in store for China.

One e-commerce platform that remains uncharted territory for Luxury brands is WeChat. While adoption rates have grown since 2016 and brands such as Cartier， Coach， Dior， IWC Schaffhausen， and Givenchy have WeChat shops or have held limited-time WeChat sales， only 6% of Fashion brands （5% counting brands in both last years and this years study） and 14% of Watches & Jewelry brands sell through WeChat.

1 Chinese Luxury E-Commerce Platforms You Need to Know

Some luxury brands have approached the trend towards e-commerce with a degree of trepidation， but ultimately it seems no one can resist succumbing to the allure of online retail.

Earlier this year， news broke that French luxury goods group LVMH was to set up a new e-commerce platform named 24 Sèvres to host all of its brands. Meanwhile， WeChat， Chinas most popular messaging app， has become a testing ground for luxury e-commerce expansion， with Dior， Bulgari and Burberry among those early to adopt WeChat sales.

As global retailers and consumers are slowly adapting to the idea of shopping for luxury goods online， their Chinese counterparts have already made significant progress in popularizing luxury e-commerce. According to a 2016 report by Ruder Finn， e-commerce proved to be a major opportunity for luxury brands， in which online purchases amounted to 26 percent of luxury spending by mainland Chinese customers. While not all luxury brands have fully embraced online opportunities in China due to concerns over counterfeits and the impulse to protect brand exclusivity， according to digital intelligence firm L2， many have a presence on Chinese online shops through both official and unofficial channels.endprint

Besides Alibabas Tmall and JD.com， two multi-brand ecommerce platforms that have taken up a large portion of Chinas online luxury retail pie， below are seven other popular luxury e-commerce sites international brands should know about to gain a better understanding of Chinas e-luxury landscape.

Founded in 2008， Secoo（寺庫） is one of the largest Chinese multi-brand luxury B2C sites. It currently operates under a partnership with Tencent in order to create data profiles for their more than 3 million registered shoppers.

Secoo specializes in luxury clothing and accessories for men and women from bigname brands， including Burberry， Miu Miu， Hermes， Rolex， Longines， and Bulgari. Additionally， to cater to Chinese consumers growing desire for a high-end lifestyle， the platform introduced cars from brands such as Bentley and Porsche as well as yachts and personal jets on the site. Secoos popularity is partly due to the fact that it offers payment methods specifically designed to be efficient for Chinese consumers， such as WeChat wallet.

The company approaches e-commerce with an omnichannel strategy， running its website and mobile app alongside offline boutiques located in both mainland China as well as Hong Kong， Milan， and Tokyo. When an order is made online， the item is shipped directly from abroad， and consumers can either have it delivered to their home or pick it up at Secoos stores in Beijing， Shanghai and Chengdu， where in some cases， according to L2， customers can have the authenticity of their purchases verified.

2. Mei.com

Launched in 2010 by Thibault Villet， Mei.com is a headliner in Chinas luxury e-tail space for its leveraging of VR technology andexperiential luxury. The flash sales site was able to expand its reach when it forged a partnership with Ali-baba in 2015 to be on Tmall. It also gave Alibaba the backing of an established platform that had earned the respect of the more than 280 luxury brands that worked exclusively with it. The pair launched an online luxury channel featuring fashion shows highlighting curated looks from Mei.coms designers， and the platform also boasts an e-magazine that inspires customers through lifestyle editorials.

3. Meici

Meici （美西， which translates to “Western beauty”） is a Shanghai-based luxury fashion e-commerce platform that launched in 2008 and operates under Sanpower Group—the same company that bought British department store House of Fraser in 2014. Meici stands out for its minimal black-andwhite homepage design that organizes shopping categories by womens， mens， and kids fashion. The attention to kidswear taps into the growing expenditure Chinese parents are willing to make for their children. In addition to luxury brands such as Bally， Cartier， Dior， and Paul Smith， one can also find trending designer brands including Stuart Weitzman， Iceberg， and Circle.endprint

Apart from its online platform and mobile app， Meici has a flagship store called “Meici Cafe” in the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Shanghai. If consumers are based in Shanghai， they can either make a purchase with online payment or cash on delivery from meici.com， or visit Meici Cafe and shop in store. Meici also runs an e-magazine called “Mzine” that offers customers the latest fashion tips and recommends “must-buy”items to its audience.

4. 5Lux

5Lux.com provides a comprehensive list of luxury goods to its visitors， from clothing and electronics， to food， wine， and stationery. In addition to international luxury brands like Rolex， Louis Vuitton， Gucci， Bally， and La Mer， 5Lux also hosts Coach， Kenzo， Tods， Kiehls， and many other renowned， but more accessible brands. The platform works with many of its brands to support an O2O model where customers can pick up their items purchased on the platform in store.

While many luxury brands are conservative or cautious about offering promotional sales online， 5Lux offers yearround discounts between 20 to 80 percent for different brands to incentivize Chinas middle-class consumers to make and repeat purchases. Moreover， to keep up with the gift-giving culture in China， 5Lux has a dedicated page where consumers can browse gifts based on gender， price， occasion， the receivers hobbies， and even their shipping location.

5. Shangpin

Shangpin， whose Chinese characters mean “fashion”and “taste”， is a luxury e-commerce retailer that specializes in fashion and hosts brands including 3.1. Phillip Lim， Burberry， Gucci， Fendi， and Moschino. It also enjoys an exclusive agreement with the British high-street brand Topshop in China.

Like other domestic players in the Chinese e-commerce market， Shangpin understands how to drive its consumersshopping desire by leveraging the fan economy. Celebrities and KOLs （key opinion leaders） are an important source for luxury product recommendations for Chinese consumers， so under each shopping category， Shangpin features shopping guides that leverage celebrity influence. Shopping guide titles like “Popular Handbags Owned by Celebrities in 2017” give consumers inspiration from their favorite KOLs.

More recently， Shangpin has taken note of the growing influence and popularity of Chinas own fashion designer scene by creating a separate channel on the platform that features a curated selection of 80 Chinese brands.

6. iHaveUendprint

iHaveU is a luxury B2C platform founded in 2010 that features brands such as Prada， Burberry， Emporio Armani， Salvatore Ferragamo， and Versace. Unlike many other luxury e-retailers in China， iHaveU chooses to highlight designer home items， which include furniture and silverware， instead of cosmetics on its main navigation bar. It has even partnered with an Australian real estate agency to offer a home and condo-purchasing service to its high-income audience.

In 2016， iHaveU launched a new sub-website called“Global U Choice” that features skincare， personal care， health supplements， imported food， home items and maternal and baby products that are directly shipped from abroad. Not only is the company taking advantage of Chinas growing demand for imported goods in these categories， but it has also been catching up with the mobile shopping trend by launching an online store on WeChat and its own mobile app.

While many B2C e-commerce sites face challenges in reassuring customers their luxury goods are authentic， iHaveU claims that every product on its website goes through five quality control processes before it reaches the hands of its buyer.

7. Xiu.com

After taking advantage of Chinas luxury industry boom in 2008—and then later weathering its downturn—luxury fashion and cosmetics e-tailer Xiu.com remains one of Chinas leading e-commerce sites to rival Secoo. Out of the luxury brands benchmarked by digital intelligence firm L2 in its latest Digital IQ Index： China Luxury report， Salvatore Ferragamo and Hugo Boss are some of the only labels with an official presence on the site， but the platform features nearly all of the luxury brands in L2s report in an unofficial capacity.endprint