Snapshots of Dior advertisement from WeChat Moment
On Aug. 1, Dior launched its first boutique shop on WeChat and broadcast information about a limited edition Lady Dior handbag, to be sold only between Aug. 1 and Aug. 4 for 28,000 yuan.
The advertisement was first published on Dior's official WeChat public account, and then promoted through a sponsored advertisement platform on WeChat Moments. This makes Dior the first luxury brand to sell bags on WeChat Moments, according to thepaper.cn.
The advertisement states that the limited edition "Lady Dior Small China Valentine," a leather handbag in the color of rose poudre, is only available in Dior's online boutique, where customers can personally design certain details on the bag.
The sale reportedly began at 12:13 a.m., and the bags were sold out as of press time. Dior said the same bag will be available in offline shops after Aug. 4 for the same price, thepaper.cn reported.
Luxury brands like Dior are facing a sales slump in the Chinese market, with sales down 2 percent in 2015, and an ongoing reduction of customers at brick and mortar stores. On the other hand, a report from consultancy firm Ipsos Group showed that some 36 percent of Chinese respondents said they were willing to purchase luxury goods online in 2015, up 24 percent from 2014, according to the same report.
"Offline shops have indeed entered a bottleneck period that is in need of adjustment," said Josephine Liang Shangjiu, general manager of Longchamp China, in an interview with thepaper.cn. Liang added that there is so far no luxury e-commerce platform in China that can meet luxury brands' sales requirements.
Longchamp has also opened a boutique on its official WeChat account.
