Iconic jewelry house Tiffany & Co has become the latest high-end brand to sign up to use Tmall’s Luxury Pavilion – an invitation-only platform for Luxury brands.
The off-shoot of Alibaba is aimed at reaching China’s young and digitally-savvy shoppers and since its launch last August it has attracted nearly 70 brands to the platform, including Burberry, Versace, Moschino, Marni, Tod’s, Maserati, LVMH-owned Guerlain and Givenchy.
Tiffany joins with the release of its latest “Tiffany Paper Flowers” collection.
The Chinese consumer is already the world’s most powerful luxury consumer, representing 32% of overall luxury sales. Its share is expected to rise to 44% in the next seven years and probably cross the 50% threshold in ten. The average age of the luxury consumer in China is about 15 years younger than her counterpart in the US and ten years younger than the average European luxury consumer.
They are also more demanding and are not yet loyal to a particular brand or maison, and want to engage with luxury brands online.
New York-based Tiffany will launch a virtual pop-up store on the Pavilion, with pre-sales beginning 16 August. This gives Pavilion shoppers a two-week head-start to purchase the new collection before it hits brick-and-mortar stores in China on 1 September.
During the pop-up, Tiffany will leverage augmented reality-powered technology to engage China’s tech-savvy consumers, as well as offer perks to top shoppers in the platform’s loyalty programme, the Luxury Pavilion Club.
Select members can receive rewards, including a high-end delivery experience and an invitation to an exclusive party in Shanghai to celebrate the collection’s official launch next month, with complimentary stays at the St. Regis Shanghai hotel.
“Today’s Chinese consumer has many choices when purchasing luxury goods,” Philippe Galtié, executive vice president of global sales at Tiffany & Co told Azilia. “[We are] embracing China’s digital innovation as we continue to seek new platforms to deliver a seamless experience to customers in China and around the world.”
Catering specifically to the Pavilion’s high-end Chinese consumers, Tiffany has selected eight pieces from Krakoff’s new collection to launch on the platform. Prices range from RMB 22,400 ($3,253) to RMB 673,000 ($97,926).
Image: Tiffany
