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🤖 Luxury redefined: How is LVMH using AI behind the scenes for success? According to Vogue Business, this is how LVMH, the powerhouse behind Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Tiffany & Co., plans to maintain its leadership in the industry by embracing AI as part of its digital transformation strategy. 🚀 Their secret weapon? An "AI FACTORY" churning out customizable AI tools. LVMH’s AI Factory team builds and offers Lego-like, modifiable, modular algorithms that can be tailored to each brand’s data and business needs, enhancing efficiency and accessibility. This frees up and elevates staff to focus on what matters most—the human touch. LVMH uses AI to cater to busy, discerning clients who increasingly crave personalized service. Here’s how: 💡 E-Commerce Recommendations: Use algorithms to help client advisors make better recommendations and suggest high-potential customers, enhancing sales through relevant conversations. 📊 Forecasting: Predict which luxury products to produce and where to distribute them, with detailed placement recommendations. Future projects will focus on detecting "end of life" products and reducing unsold stock. 💼 Workforce Upskilling: Going forward, the luxury group plans to upskill all 10,000 employees in AI, with 1,500 already trained to successfully write prompts for generative AI.    The TAKEAWAY?  ✨ As luxury brands like LVMH continue to integrate AI technologies, the potential for future development is immense but must be approached strategically. AI can greatly enhance personalized customer experiences and operational efficiencies, but maintaining the human touch that defines luxury is crucial. The marriage of human expertise and cutting-edge AI at LVMH's AI Factory is truly exciting—a masterclass in leveraging data and AI for COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE in luxury.    Thank you Maghan McDowell for this insightful news on Vogue Business. Image source: (1) Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty Images #LVMH #Luxury #CustomerExperience #AI #TechnologyInnovation 

☕ How can foreign brands navigate the Guochao trend in China? Here’s what you can learn from Starbucks: March 2024, Starbucks China launched an alluring springtime initiative: "Art Gallery in a Coffee Cup" (咖啡杯里的美术馆) to reconnect with Chinese consumers. 🎨 Notably, this campaign features the COLLABORATION with 4 talented RURAL painters from Yunnan, gracing Starbucks cups with their vibrant artwork into their products across 6,000 stores nationwide. Why this approach? 🏮In today's dynamic market, Chinese consumers, particularly Gen Z, are increasingly drawn to brands that honor and integrate Chinese CULTURAL ELEMENTS. This trend, often referred to as “GUOCHAO 3.0”, has seen exponential recent growth. According to People.cn, the Guochao economy surged to 2.05 TRILLION YUAN in 2023, and is said to be a “new stream of consumption vitality” in China for 2024. 🌸 Starbucks' spring initiative underscores a strategic move to RESONATE deeply with these evolving consumer preferences. By showcasing vivid artworks of springtime pastoral scenes through the eyes of local artists, Starbucks not only celebrates China's diverse heritage but also taps into a reservoir of AUTHENTICITY that resonates profoundly with its audience. Moreover, Starbucks has augmented this initiative with offline exhibitions in Shanghai, where patrons can engage firsthand with the artists' works and even collect stamps for a chance to win tote bags designed by the Yunnanese artists, a thoughtful blend of cultural immersion and interactive marketing. 📈Essentially, Guochao 3.0 is a consumption trend that brands cannot afford to ignore. AUTHENTIC collaborations with local artists not only enrich product offerings but also serve as a bridge between tradition and innovation, fostering a compelling narrative that resonates beyond mere consumerism. Thank you Miranda Jarrett 姜明兰 for the insightful share on Dao Insights. #Starbucks #China #Guochao #CulturalHeritage #ConsumerEngagement 

💰 Louis Vuitton and Hermès are pouring MILLIONS into Hong Kong luxury retail. Here's what you need to know. 🏙️ Iconic Hong Kong mall, Landmark Plaza, is undergoing a $1 billion transformation into "Tomorrow's CENTRAL," a luxurious retail hub. With a $600 million investment from premium brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Chanel... and $400 million from Hong Kong Land, this investment will double the retail space to 220,000 sq ft. The GOAL? To help these luxury brands build more expansive flagship stores with high-end custom studios and additional services like private dining and VIC salons for high-net-worth customers. So, what fuels their confidence in this massive $1 billion renovation?  💰 Hong Kong boasts a high concentration of WEALTHY RESIDENTS. In 2023, 80% of Landmark Plaza's sales came from loyal high-net-worth customers who spend, on average, HK$1 million annually and visit the mall every other week.  💸There's also a growing influence of Generation X and baby boomers in the luxury market. As these demographics continue to accumulate wealth, their impact on luxury spending is expected to rise even higher, making them a potential top customer group. However, the following CHALLENGES remain:  🌏 As the yen-dollar exchange rate fell to a decades-low, neighboring JAPAN has taken over the luxury shopping boom that Chinese consumers previously experienced in Hong Kong and Europe. Additionally, Hong Kong is facing rising competition from Mainland China’s DUTY-FREE destinations like Hainan and Macau (see my recent LinkedIn post on this ;)). 💵 PwC also pointed out that the continued strength of the US and Hong Kong dollar may NARROW the luxury price gap, reducing Hong Kong’s price advantages. 🌟Despite these challenges, the strategic investment underscores the brands' belief in Hong Kong's potential. The city's unique position as a global wealth center with a significant number of high-net-worth individuals remains a compelling factor. Additionally, events like Chanel's upcoming fashion show in Hong Kong and Louis Vuitton's recent store reopening signal strong brand commitment to the region. 📊 With strategic marketing and retargeting efforts, brands can sustainably drive and re-engage Chinese consumers, whether they’re traveling to Hong Kong, shop in China, or other global markets. Do you think this massive investment by luxury brands in Hong Kong is a smart move? Thank you Drizzie Zuo for the insightful sharing on LadyMax. #HongKong #Luxury #CRM Image source: (1) LADYMAX 

💡 Salesforce China recently released its latest webinar – and here’s what you’d want to know: 🌟 Salesforce is diving deeper to tailor its offerings for the Chinese market – introducing the integration with Quick Audience to empower MARKETING AUTOMATION for brands on key local channels, especially the WeChat ecosystem. 📊 With seamless access to HIGH-QUALITY DATA from Salesforce CRM as the source of truth, Quick Audience can enable brands to: 🔹 Create data tables and insight graphs for comprehensive visualization of consumer data 🔹 Effortlessly segment customers with flexible filters based on tags, touchpoints, and behavior data (like past purchases) 🔹 Design and execute marketing automation journeys with a user-friendly drag-and-drop tool 🔄 Furthermore, Quick Audience has real-time data collection from various marketing automation journeys and feeds them back into Salesforce China. This closed data loop helps continuously build holistic customer profiles, giving Sales, Service, and Marketing teams FULL VISIBILITY into comprehensive customer insights for future targeting initiatives. But is integrating Quick Audience marketing automation A MUST when onboarding Salesforce China? ✨ Not at all! Thanks to Salesforce's powerful open APIs, brands can CHOOSE to easily connect their existing Marketing Automation/Social CRM systems with Salesforce China. Quick Audience is an option, not a requirement. Essentially, the decision to adopt Quick Audience and other add-ons or keep specific existing setups when onboarding Salesforce China will depend on your unique needs and goals. A big thank you to Xintong Zhang for the insightful share in the recent Salesforce China Webinar. ITC is partnering with Salesforce China to help companies create tailored, comprehensive CRM frameworks that seamlessly connect with your global CRM and local business systems to enhance data collection and utilization. Feel free to DM me for more details! ;) #Salesforce #China #Marketing #CRM #Data

🛍️ Can offline retail SUSTAIN in China? Here’s how to stay ahead of the curve of the evolving retail landscape in the region.  🛎️ The pandemic wasn't the end of retail; it was a wake-up call. With the rise of social commerce on platforms like WeChat, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, JD.com, Tmall..., brands are rethinking their offline investments. 📊 KPMG's recent report shows NEARLY HALF of Chinese consumers prefer an OMNICHANNEL approach, while only 12% mainly shop in physical stores. However, physical stores will likely not disappear as they can provide a unique brand experience that’s difficult to replicate online or virtually. Brands are transforming the stale storefronts into more meaningful, IMMERSIVE spaces that create memorable experiences for customers: 🌟 South Korean eyewear giant Gentle Monster takes retail to a new level with Haus Nowhere Shanghai. WWD calls it a vibrant, multi-brand haven where fashion and art collide. Here, every corner tells a story, creating a captivating, museum-inspired shopping experience. 🏞️ The ARCTERYX Museum, a bold ECO-RETAIL venture by Canadian brand Arcteryx, transcends the boundaries of a typical flagship store. It brings the rugged beauty of Vancouver's Coastal Mountains (Arcteryx's birthplace) to life, blending retail with celebrating the brand's heritage in a museum-like experience.    ♻️ Accessory brand Freitag's new Shanghai flagship, created in collaboration with Swiss architects, focuses on repurposed and locally-sourced materials. The store seamlessly integrates with the local community, and even the rooftop terrace is open to the public, showcasing their dedication to SUSTAINABILITY. 📈 Engaging offline spaces, combined with METRICS like foot traffic and social media buzz, can provide insights into the ROI of these creative investments. To capitalize beyond one-off traffic, brands NEED to integrate these offline spaces with WeCom clienteling:    🔷 Online-to-Offline: Drive existing followers/customers to the stores with pre-store engagement via personalized WeCom Moments and broadcasted messages. 🔷 Offline-to-Online & Data Collection: Capture new followers/customers in-store via QR codes, adding them to your WeCom network for continued nurturing for future purchases.    By integrating the collected online and offline data into the centralized CRM (like Salesforce China), brands can unlock data-driven insights and refine future experiences to deliver more seamless omnichannel customer journeys and boost sales, engagement, and loyalty. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to talk more about clienteling, data, CRM... in China ;) Thank you Evelyne Chang for the insightful sharing on China Skinny #Retail #Innovation #China #CRM #WeCom Images source: (1) gentlemonster.com; (2) gentlemonster.com; (3) Dao Insight; (4) Weibo @ARCTERYX 始祖鸟; (5) freitag.ch 

🚀 Retail in China has become significantly more DIGITIZED. Brands must integrate public and private domains for a seamless omnichannel experience.  🌐 We are seeing rising importance in customer acquisition through CONTENT-DRIVEN engagement in public traffic domains.  📱 For instance, Xiaohongshu (RED), often dubbed "China's Instagram," allow brands to leverage multi-media content marketing and user-generated content to effectively promote products and build brand awareness.  🛍️ The platform has also incorporated more e-Commerce and CLIENTELING features, such as livestreaming sales, custom Mini Program stores, Key Opinion Sales profiles, private messaging..., streamlining online sales conversion and closing the entire customer journey loop. 🎥 E-Commerce marketplaces like JD.com and Tmall are also becoming more similar to social media, with dedicated sections offering SHORT VIDEO and LIVESTREAMING content. 📈 But the benefits NEED to go deeper than one-time purchases. While public traffic domains offer more exposure for building brand awareness and online presence, it's becoming increasingly DIFFICULT for brands to extract CUSTOMER DATA due to tightening data protection laws.  💪 Brands need to simultaneously strengthen PRIVATE DOMAIN operations, which allows them to collect 100% of customer data to effectively target and nurture consumer relationships for future engagement, online and OFFLINE conversion, loyalty, and more. 📜 HOWEVER, it’s worth noting that the rules of the game between platforms are constantly changing so the tactics we mention here need to be adapted when necessary. It’s crucial to stay updated on changes and continuously optimize your approach. Each platform may also require a different strategy. Brands need to dive into the different nuances of each platform, as this is just a high-level take. 🎯 Here’s the takeaway: Brands can leverage public traffic marketplaces and social media to attract mass traffic, and private traffic channels, especially the WeChat ecosystem, for loyalty nurturing via 1-on-1 interactions and customer service.  🔁 Integrating these two can create a powerful OMNICHANNEL synergy that drives customer acquisition and sales conversion, ultimately leading to long-term, sustainable growth. Don’t hesitate to ping me if you want to talk more about making the most of data, omnichannel, CRM... in China :) Many thanks to EZR for the insightful share.  #OmniChannel #China #Retail #DigitalTransformation #ContentMarketing 

🌟💰 China's Emoji Obsession: From Social Craze to Billion-Dollar Industry 🚀 This March, the retailer and variety store chain Miniso launched a collaboration with Chiikawa, the “rising star of cute creature” EMOJI CHARACTER popular on Chinese social media platforms, at Jing’an Joy City in Shanghai. Within 10 hours, the pop-up raked in RMB 2.68 million ($380K) and attracted a staggering 96,000 visitors the next day. This figure seems a bit too high in my opinion, but it does signal a booming industry here. So, why the hype? 💖 In China's dynamic environment, these cartoon characters (like Chiikawa, Maltese, and Loopy) are more than just cute. They strike a chord with young people by offering RELATABLE content and a sense of comfort. They have become a way for users to express themselves, navigate daily stresses through lighthearted interactions on social media, and simply have some fun. Here’s the emoji industry's winning formula: 🌐 ONLINE, cartoon IPs leverage platforms like Weibo, Douyin, Bilibili, and Xiaohongshu (RED) to keep fans engaged through fresh content and direct interactions. 🛍️OFFLINE, once they establish a strong online presence, these characters translate into lucrative merchandise and experiences. Their presence in cafes, parks, and high-profile brand collaborations keeps them at the forefront of consumers' minds, fostering a continuous connection. 💡Can brands CAPITALIZE on the burgeoning emoji character industry? Absolutely! The burgeoning emoji character industry presents a unique marketing opportunity for brands of various industries (e.g., retail, fashion, F&B...), especially to attract younger consumers. From collaborative pop-up stores, events, to (limited-edition) co-branded products, working with these cartoon IPs can help brands drive FOOT TRAFFIC and SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ, foster emotional connections, and build awareness and sales for their main product/service offerings 📈 🎯 Taking this to the next level, brands NEED to leverage these campaigns to collect valuable first-party data and engage customers on a more personal level. It's not just about the immediate splash but about building lasting connections afterward. Thank you Esther Z. for the insightful sharing on China Skinny. #China #Emojis #Marketing #SocialMedia Image source: RED/Xiaohongshu

💸 China's Duty-Free Boom: Can airports reclaim their throne?  🏬 China is witnessing an IN-CITY duty-free boom in domestic urban areas like Sanya, Hainan, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen... In Sanya, LVMH’s Guerlain recently launched a state-of-the-art Ultimate Boutique back in January, while DFS Group plans to open a seven-star luxury retail and entertainment complex by 2026.  This domestic duty-free surge aligns with the significant government’s push to boost DOMESTIC TOURISM – encouraging consumers to shop inside China - and broaden consumer spending by raising the annual duty-free allowance and expanding the range of tax-free products. This has led to growing competition internally between AIRPORT vs IN-CITY duty-free stores in China. 🛍️ As travel restrictions ease, affluent Chinese shoppers are returning, but their spending habits have CHANGED. They are cutting back on overall spending, particularly on big-ticket items in airports. Their travel budgets are stretched thinner than many expected. 💫 Consumers are also prioritizing experiences alongside luxury goods, increasingly BYPASSING TRADITIONAL AIRPORT-BASED duty-free shops in favor of in-city complexes, which can offer a wider selection and a more engaging experience So, can airports win back these high-spending travelers? 🔷 Unique & Value-Added Experiences: Airports can stay competitive by creating innovative retail spaces featuring exclusive offerings and VALUE-ADDED SERVICES like the Dior's Spa concept at Qatar Duty Free. These experiences make airports the perfect setting for spontaneous luxury purchases, appealing to impulsive luxury buyers, including Chinese clientele. 🔷 Convenience & Ambiance: Less crowded terminals and a curated shopping environment can attract time-pressed travelers.  🔷 Tailored Experiences: Implementing effective CRM and CLIENTELING strategies can enhance targeting efficiency. This is particularly significant for luxury brands whose high-value clientele demand PERSONALIZATION across domestic and global markets that they often travel to.    As global travel rebounds, APAC's duty-free market is projected to grow to $81 bilion by 2027. Chinese airport duty-free stores will need to provide consumers with the right experiences to win the retail race. What do you think? How can Chinese airport duty-free stores do better? Thank you Avery Booker for the insightful sharing on Jing Daily  #TravelRetail #China #LuxuryTravel #CRM #Clienteling Images source: (1) DFS; (2) Courtesy of Dior; (3) airport-world.com