An advertisement featuring White Rabbit's new range of skin care products. (Provided to China Daily)
Managing a vintage business is thus no longer an art but a sort of science. A central plank of this winning strategy lies in the use of data to tailor offerings and enhance product quality.
"An online channel is the best way to keep us abreast of the latest customer trends, identify emerging needs, and acquire new customers," said Tang Huimin, director of digital retail business at Rio.
Hero and Rio were brought together by e-commerce titan Alibaba through a company initiative to rejuvenate time-honored brands. The pair aim to use the internet giant to distill customer insights and launch marketing campaigns based on studies of 654 million active users on its e-commerce sites.
Crossover retail has a proven track record for elevating sales and brand esteem. Last year, 120-year-old cosmetics brand Jahwa partnered with Rio to launch a cocktail featuring the fragrance of its Six God Floral Water, arguably China's most popular mosquito repellent.
According to Tang, Rio saw monthly sales "explode" when the limited-edition drink hit the market in June, with 92 percent of purchases by new customers.
In a similar vein, Shanghai-based White Rabbit milk-flavored candy made headlines recently not because of a new confectionary, but with a range of skin care products infused with the essence of olives and sweet almonds.
By teaming up with domestic fragrance specialist Scent Library, White Rabbit saw more than 14,000 themed items snapped up in the first 10 seconds after the skin care range debuted on Tmall on May 23, according to Alibaba.
Two months after the candy maker launched its online store, crossover collaboration has helped fuel a 15-fold jump in the number of visitors and increase sales revenue 1.6 times.
