China Experts Say Retail-tainment, Key Opinion Sales and a Focus on Culture Are Winning Strategies

LONDON — Out of adversity comes alternative.

As main luxurious gamers tighten their belts, the Chinese language modern market is discovering methods to prosper in a troublesome market.

They’re grabbing prime retail spots left vacant by underperforming luxurious manufacturers, harnessing the facility of Chinese language social media, and constructing participating native communities.

They’re additionally utilizing China’s subtle livestream trade and logistics techniques to promote to shoppers on the hunt for high quality, competitively priced style.

Select a Clear Narrative

In line with Elisa Harca, chief government officer and cofounder of promoting company Pink Ant Asia, manufacturers which can be possible to reach China in the present day will possess “a transparent and compelling” worth proposition.

“It’s about providing true worth, from high quality to storytelling to model values. Given the overwhelming selections obtainable, manufacturers should set up a powerful id to face out. Those who aren’t actually attention-grabbing and aren’t actually dedicated to understanding the Chinese language shopper tradition and embracing its nuances received’t final very lengthy,” mentioned Harca, whose company takes care of manufacturers similar to Byredo, Creed, Charlotte Tilbury and Balmain for the China area.

A one-size-fits-all method now not works for China.

Harca mentioned that one in every of her firm’s shoppers, American Classic, has partnered with Zeying, which is led by seasoned retail skilled Haiqing Wang. The partnership led American Classic to open eight shops in key cities in 2024. The shop rely is about to double by the tip of 2025.

In line with Harca, American Classic stands out for its aggressive pricing and its offline-first mannequin in China’s e-commerce-driven retail panorama.

Previous to the mainland China enlargement, American Classic began in Hong Kong through a partnership with the Rue Madame Group, a up to date style retail operator based by Ariane Zagury.

Harca’s different manufacturers have pursued totally different avenues to development.

Alexandra Spencer and Teale Talbot’s cult costume model Réalisation Par, first used Xiaohongshu (generally known as Pink Notice outdoors of China), to seize the eye of abroad Chinese language shoppers earlier than opening on-line flagships on Tmall and Xiaoshonghu.

Harca mentioned the model now focuses on dressing ladies in China as a way to construct a stronger bond with the nation.

Harca believes that presence on Xiaohongshu is prime. It connects with the worldwide Chinese language shopper, and fills an area left open by TikTok, the way forward for which is unsure.

The Rise of Key Opinion Gross sales

Xiaohongshu additionally lately launched Little Pink Star initiatives, which hyperlinks information from Xiaohongshu to Tmall. Manufacturers can achieve deeper insights into marketing campaign efficiency, enabling them to fine-tune their methods for measurable gross sales development.

The instrument additionally dovetails with the emergence of “key opinion gross sales” throughout social commerce platforms.

One look at Xiaohongshu and it turns into clear that manufacturers together with Bottega Veneta, Burberry and Bulgari are encouraging gross sales associates to create their very own communities. They’re turning on a regular basis employees into trusted influencers, driving private engagement — and boosting gross sales.

Pooky Lee, style curator and codirector of inventive advertising and marketing company Poptag, sees nice potential in each. His company makes a speciality of serving to manufacturers like Prada, Miu Miu, Max Mara and Rimowa to brainstorm and execute China-focused campaigns.

“Key opinion gross sales is a sizzling matter in China in the meanwhile, and plenty of manufacturers are leveraging the affect of their content material for buyer acquisitions on social platforms. Little Pink Star supplies a stable approach to monitor this a part of the enterprise,” mentioned Lee, including that manufacturers more and more favor user-generated unique content material, as an alternative of belongings from headquarters.

Retail-tainment and Group Constructing

Connie Lee, CEO and chief advertising and marketing officer of Chelsey Home, a model and retail administration platform taking care of Zimmermann, Mackage, R13 and Sporty & Wealthy in China, believes China stays one of the crucial thrilling markets for constructing a model.

She added that to compete, providing an incredible product shouldn’t be sufficient.

“It’s about making a model that resonates deeply with its viewers. Chinese language shoppers are dynamic and aspirational, and they’re drawn to manufacturers that replicate their way of life and supply emotional worth. To face out, manufacturers should create seamless, personalised experiences that really feel intentional and are constantly executed throughout each touchpoint. When a model fosters a way of belonging and builds a real neighborhood, shoppers don’t simply discover the model; they need to be a part of it,” Lee mentioned.

She pointed to retail-tainment, which ranges from style exhibits to celeb Q&As to interactive product showcases throughout livestreaming, as a key means of making experiences and connections for shoppers to really feel engaged and valued.

Whereas China represents a monumental alternative, Lee additionally agreed with Harca that there’s no one-size-fits-all method.

“Success lies in a culturally conscious technique that balances native insights with a worldwide imaginative and prescient. In 2025, adaptability might be extra vital than ever. Manufacturers should keep agile, shortly responding to the evolving market panorama, macro-policies and shifting shopper wants,” she mentioned.

Lee added: “In in the present day’s difficult retail setting, a rigorously managed offline distribution technique — targeted on key locations and in-store experiences — paired with an omnichannel method, affords sustainable development.”

Coco Yu, cofounder of the Shanghai- and London-based communication company Arc, whose shoppers embrace Lululemon and Penhaligon’s, cautioned that newcomers shouldn’t be in a rush to ascertain a presence throughout each potential channel in China.

“Begin small and keep targeted, conduct exact explorations. When you’ve recognized the correct target market and their profile, you’ll be able to scale with confidence. On the identical time, manufacturers have to genuinely perceive their clients. It’s about including emotional worth that resonates deeply. After all, genius-level creativity all the time stands out — it’s timeless and irreplaceable,” Yu added.

Cultural Appreciation

Louis Liu, cofounder and artistic director of the Shenzhen- and New York-based inventive company Sixsix Studio, whose shoppers embrace Nars, Versace and Zegna, mentioned the collaboration between Lancôme and artist Cai Guo-Qiang for the 12 months of the Snake was an incredible instance of “genius-level” creativity.

“He created a gunpowder portray for the model referred to as ‘Paris Rose.’ What’s good about it’s that it’s painted by cAI, a custom-built AI mannequin. It learns from Cai’s inventive oeuvre, intensive writings, archival supplies and documentation. To me, this collaboration shouldn’t be solely a commercialization try for the buzzy synthetic intelligence growth, but in addition an in-depth exploration of Chinese language tradition and artwork,” Liu mentioned.

A seasoned advertising and marketing government, Liu believes that on a macro-level manufacturers have to undertake a Chinese language, core model narrative to reach the long term.

High-performing style manufacturers are often specialists within the subject.

Loewe, for instance, has labored on a number of high-profile initiatives involving Chinese language conventional arts and crafts. Final yr the model hosted a grasp jade carvers’ pendant sequence. This yr it paid homage to the traditional craft of Chinese language cloisonné to mark the 12 months of the Snake.

The cloisonné method, which started within the Yuan Dynasty greater than 600 years in the past, makes use of ultra-fine bent wires to create designs on a metallic base, which is then full of coloured enamel, fired, polished and gilded.

The model partnered with grasp Xiong Songtao, a Chinese language arts and crafts grasp and the youngest of six dwelling masters of Chinese language cloisonné, for a set of necklaces with cloisonné pendants that includes the auspicious snake, monkey and cloud motifs.

Burberry, which is within the thick of a promising turnaround plan, additionally jumped on the normal craft bandwagon for its Chinese language New 12 months marketing campaign.

Burberry dressed model ambassador Zhang Jingyi, fashions Zhang Lina and Alex Schlab in purple and tweaked its “B” brand to create a small snake. The model additionally teamed with one in every of China‘s most celebrated bamboo-weaving artists, Qian Lihuai, to create 9 bamboo artwork sculptures, in addition to a sequence of display screen savers.

Up to now, it’s been a success with on-line spectators in China.

“These initiatives embody a deep understanding and appreciation of Chinese language tradition, historical past, custom and shopper psychology. They symbolize the most effective eventualities — aligning the model’s world core values with native cultural innovation to create a particular, inventive expression that resonates with the fashionable Chinese language shopper. Whereas these initiatives goal a particular vacation second, the cultural impression they generate is timeless and unmeasurable,” he mentioned.