How Does The Luxury Industry Graft Chinese Elements?

Big players have broken the heart of China's slowing growth.

When Chinese consumers become luxury

As an important customer, the Chinese new year has gradually become the holiday marketing opportunity which brands attach great importance to. Many luxury brands such as LV, Dior and Armani have launched the limited edition products of monkey animals or other design elements related to the Chinese New Year for Chinese consumers.

However, the product brings Chinese elements and is eager to get the original intention of Chinese consumers' cultural identification from psychology. However, due to the lack of in-depth understanding of Chinese culture, some products and marketing have been made.

Suffer from vomit trough.

Some analysts told reporters that the international luxury brands need to balance the balance between brand DNA and important market elements, to cater to the market and also need to have an in-depth understanding of local culture.

Commercial espionage entered the design department?

China's lunar calendar year is coming. Many luxury brands have launched a series of products designed for the monkey.

Some high-end cosmetic brands have launched the new year limited edition of skin care products or cosmetics.

Estee Lauder launched the "monkey year limited essence" and "2016 monkey limited edition gold powder cake golden monkey Xian Rui". Givenchy launched the "light and constant star four color loose powder monkey New Year Limited Edition".

Luxury brands LV, Dior and Armani have launched the monkey Limited accessories, such as the world's largest luxury brand LV launched a set of three packages (collar, necklace, bracelet) monkey annual sales volume accessories, reportedly made of SWAROVSKI crystal, priced at 705 U. S. dollars;

There are Zodiac monkey elements in the Naples macaque's commemorative watch in the year of monkey, Jacques, the monkey year series watch, the count's filigree enamel, and the watch of the zodiac. The Calvin Klein also introduced a special underwear of the monkey's annual Zodiac.

However, because some of the designs are not in accordance with the Chinese aesthetic habits, some new designs are frequently exposed to slots.

For example, a year old Zodiac accessory designed by a luxury brand has been questioned by Chinese netizens. The monkey is like an alien with two ears.

Similar situations have occurred in recent years.

Burberry, the famous luxury brand, has introduced a limited Chinese scarf for the Spring Festival. The end of the traditional cashmere scarf is embroidered with a red "Fu" word, priced at 5750 yuan, 850 yuan more than the ordinary scarf.

But this scarf attracted a lot of netizens Tucao, some netizens use "not Shanzhai, better than Shanzhai" to describe.

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Also in the year of the sheep, a famous international high-end liquor brand Scotch Whisky has launched the Taiwan limited edition, which is based on the characteristics and meaning of sheep. It only sets four bottles of wine bottles to see the picture of "three sheep opening up". However, because "4" is an unlucky number in China, consumers are more willing to buy only one bottle.

Even the sports brand Nike has been stuck with such a curse. A new shoe released in early 2016 is mainly white. In the heel part, it is written with the scarlet letter, or the inverted "blessing", to get the benefit of the Chinese people.

But Chinese netizens see this design Tucao "fat" link, because its Chinese meaning is fat, stature is out of shape.

Its "SB" series launched by Nike in 2015 also shocked some Chinese consumers.

SB series of shoes in English full name is: Nike Dunk Low (Hi) Pro SB (that is, skate board abbreviation), is one of its most mainstream board shoes.

However, the meaning of "SB" in China almost everyone knows, some netizens Tucao said, "I saw a big Nike sb Series in shopping malls, and I laughed with my friends for a long time. Is it that commercial spies went into the design department of their company?"

Chen Jingyu, a consumer goods analyst at Nomura Securities in Asia (except Japan), told the "First Financial Daily" that these designs for Chinese lunar new year or monkey year show that these international brands attach great importance to the Chinese market, so they want to embody Chinese elements in their design, but obviously they do not know enough about Chinese culture and aesthetic habits.

How to graft Chinese elements

The importance of Chinese shoppers for luxury brands is already self-evident.

In the past 2015, Chinese shoppers continued to be the largest consumers of luxury goods in the world. The 2015 Research Report on luxury goods in China showed that Chinese shoppers spent about $116 billion 800 million on luxury goods, an increase of 9% over the same period last year, with consumption amounting to $91 billion, an increase of 12% over the same period last year.

In terms of global luxury consumption, Chinese shoppers occupy up to 46% of the total.

To meet the needs of regional market differentiation, many low-end consumer brands such as L'OREAL and Procter & Gamble will have R & D centers in China to research and develop products suitable for Chinese or Asian consumers.

For luxury brands, since China is the most important market for many brands, and hopes to design products that capture the interests of Chinese consumers, why not choose Chinese designers who know more about Chinese culture?

"A lot of luxury brands or other international brands, especially some European and American brands, especially emphasize their brand DNA", Guo Lin, deputy director of sales and marketing of China consumer category, Robert Walter, a well-known international headhunting agency, told the first financial daily. Therefore, brand designers and regional high level executives basically choose European and American candidates to understand the brand connotation and culture.

On the other hand, from the luxury itself, it "created over time and small objects, including hundreds of years of history and handicrafts, which represents the top craftsmanship, culture, historical tradition and unique interpretation of life attitude. It conveys a culture and lifestyle". Gachoucha Kretz, a marketing professor specializing in brand, luxury and fashion in Paris HEC business school, believes that inheritance is an important feature of its brand.

Therefore, in the absence of an in-depth understanding of Chinese culture, the brand adds Chinese elements simply and stiffly, and the result may be counterproductive, especially in the increasingly mature consumption concept of Chinese consumers, increasingly younger consumer groups, and no longer blind to traditional brands.

"International brands need to balance the balance between brand DNA and important market elements, to cater to the market and to understand the local culture deeply," Chen Jingyu said.