The draw of the growing tribe of online luxury shoppers in China was too much to resist for the French luxury jewelry and watch brand Cartier, which has now opened a flagship store on Tmall Luxury Pavilion, the Alibaba Group’s dedicated e-commerce channel for luxury and premium brands. Cartier would offer its entire range of product categories, including jewelry, watches and leather accessories. The presale is scheduled to begin next week. To celebrate the exclusive global launch, Cartier is adding two new products at Tmall – the new Justeun Clou small model bracelet with diamonds and Guirlande chain wallet bag.Additionally, the brand will use the new Tmall Flagship 2.0 store format, where the first 288 customers will be offered exclusive services, such as custom engraving on its classic red jewelry boxes and doorstep flower-and-gift deliveries by the brand’s bellhops in uniform. The other initiatives that the Cartier customer can expect, it engagements through Tmall’s marketing tools like Super Brand Day, which highlights a single brad and also utilize their co-services like interest-free installment payments.
Cyrille Vigneron, president and CEO of Cartier International, said, “The Tmall Flagship boutique marks a milestone within the Maison’s longstanding presence in China, reflecting the inheritance of the pioneering spirit embedded in the Maison’s DNA. Given the increasingly complex e-commerce landscape in China, this strategic launch will provide significant opportunities for Cartier to embrace China’s fast-moving retail environment in order to further strengthen our commitment to our Chinese clients.”In October 2015, Cartier had first launched e-commerce business in China with an official Chinese website.
Mike Hu, Tmall Fashion’s general manager said, “Alibaba is committed to unlocking new value for brands. In today’s luxury landscape, it is critical to engage with both Gen Z and classic luxury consumers, and providing consumers with the most personalized experience is a crucial step for the growth of luxury brands. As such, Cartier’s Tmall flagship boutique will adopt the new Tmall Flagship Store 2.0 model, providing a virtually perfect brand experience for its targeted consumer groups. Looking forward, we will help Cartier leverage Alibaba’s Business Operating System to further upgrade its digital strategy.”
As per a report by the market research firm Euromonitor International, China’s sales of personal luxury goods last year hit $28.47 billion, an increase of 13.6% from 2018. The forecast projects the growth to $43.6 billion in 2024. Global consultancy firm McKinsey & Company has forecast that Chinese shoppers from home and abroad, will be the biggest spenders on luxury brands, and amount to 40%, by 2025.
