The impact of covid-19 on the luxury market and its digitalisation
On September 29th, the first "Conference & Experience" of the Graduates Office of the Sup de Luxe School was held. Every quarter, these meetings will bring together Sup de Luxe graduates and speakers, key figures from luxury houses and major companies from all sectors, with real expertise on a topical subject. The aim is to open up the spectrum of professional graduates in the luxury sector, in particular by enabling them to draw inspiration from what is being done in other industries. For this first edition, the association welcomed Sébastien Badault General Manager Alibaba France & International Director Fashion & Luxury Alibaba group and Nicolas Brindjonc European Director of Agility Research, two guests with complementary expertise (luxury and e-commerce), to discuss in depth the stakes and impacts of this unprecedented health crisis on the luxury sector.
THE DIGITALISATION OF LUXURY: A FUNDAMENTAL TREND
On an international scale, we note a decrease in the growth of luxury brands, particularly in France where markets are relocating around their local clientele. The brands must compensate for the loss of retail turnover by reinventing their digital strategy. "In a few months we have referenced more than 15 new luxury brands (Balenciaga, Chloé, Balmain, Dior), which is unprecedented in such a short time on our platform," says Sébastien Badault, Managing Director of Alibaba France and International Director of Fashion & Luxury Alibaba Group.
E-commerce is playing an increasingly important role in purchasing but also in consumer information:
"Today, the new generations no longer look for information on search engines but directly on e-commerce platforms where they find trends, opinions and ratings," explains Nicolas Brindjonc, Managing Director of Agility Research.
New online tools are seeing their use explode: for example, live streaming, which allows to be closer to consumers and to create links between them and their customers," explains Nicolas Brindjonc, Managing Director of Agility Research.
THE EMERGENCE OF SHOPPERTAINMENT: BETWEEN RETAIL & DIGITAL
At the crossroads between retail and digital, this Chinese concept was imported into France by Alibaba during a short-lived pop-up held in Paris last September.
The aim is to use new technologies to provide a customer experience that is both physical and digital: more than 300 product references were presented in a concept store where customers could go to discover them, take photos and be redirected directly to the product sheet on Alibaba's online site to order it. The physical concept store was also accessible online, through a "live stream" corner animated by e-influencers that test the products live.
This concept, which pushes back the boundaries between e-store and store, is a good example of how brands are reinventing the customer experience with regard to the behaviour of new generations.
More than ever, luxury houses need to show great agility in their strategy and management: keeping in touch with customers, conquering new targets, but also taking into account the new behaviours of consumers who are increasingly informed and want to make sense of their consumption by consuming in a more responsible and local way - these are the challenges of today's luxury industry.
On September 29th, the first "Conference & Experience" of the Graduates Office of the Sup de Luxe School was held. Every quarter, these meetings will bring together Sup de Luxe graduates and speakers, key figures from luxury houses and major companies from all sectors, with real expertise on a topical subject. The aim is to open up the spectrum of professional graduates in the luxury sector, in particular by enabling them to draw inspiration from what is being done in other industries. For this first edition, the association welcomed Sébastien Badault General Manager Alibaba France & International Director Fashion & Luxury Alibaba group and Nicolas Brindjonc European Director of Agility Research, two guests with complementary expertise (luxury and e-commerce), to discuss in depth the stakes and impacts of this unprecedented health crisis on the luxury sector.
THE DIGITALISATION OF LUXURY: A FUNDAMENTAL TREND
On an international scale, we note a decrease in the growth of luxury brands, particularly in France where markets are relocating around their local clientele. The brands must compensate for the loss of retail turnover by reinventing their digital strategy. "In a few months we have referenced more than 15 new luxury brands (Balenciaga, Chloé, Balmain, Dior), which is unprecedented in such a short time on our platform," says Sébastien Badault, Managing Director of Alibaba France and International Director of Fashion & Luxury Alibaba Group.
E-commerce is playing an increasingly important role in purchasing but also in consumer information:
"Today, the new generations no longer look for information on search engines but directly on e-commerce platforms where they find trends, opinions and ratings," explains Nicolas Brindjonc, Managing Director of Agility Research.
New online tools are seeing their use explode: for example, live streaming, which allows to be closer to consumers and to create links between them and their customers," explains Nicolas Brindjonc, Managing Director of Agility Research.
THE EMERGENCE OF SHOPPERTAINMENT: BETWEEN RETAIL & DIGITAL
At the crossroads between retail and digital, this Chinese concept was imported into France by Alibaba during a short-lived pop-up held in Paris last September.
The aim is to use new technologies to provide a customer experience that is both physical and digital: more than 300 product references were presented in a concept store where customers could go to discover them, take photos and be redirected directly to the product sheet on Alibaba's online site to order it. The physical concept store was also accessible online, through a "live stream" corner animated by e-influencers that test the products live.
This concept, which pushes back the boundaries between e-store and store, is a good example of how brands are reinventing the customer experience with regard to the behaviour of new generations.
More than ever, luxury houses need to show great agility in their strategy and management: keeping in touch with customers, conquering new targets, but also taking into account the new behaviours of consumers who are increasingly informed and want to make sense of their consumption by consuming in a more responsible and local way - these are the challenges of today's luxury industry.