On Aug. 1, Dior launched its first boutique shop on WeChat and broadcast informationabout a limited edition Lady Dior handbag, to be sold only between Aug. 1 and Aug. 4 for28,000 yuan.
The advertisement was first published on Dior’s official WeChat public account, and thenpromoted through a sponsored advertisement platform on WeChat Moments. This makesDior 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,” aleather 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. Diorsaid 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 2percent in 2015, and an ongoing reduction of customers at brick and mortar stores. On theother hand, a report from consultancy firm Ipsos Group showed that some 36 percent ofChinese respondents said they were willing to purchase luxury goods online in 2015, up 24percent from 2014, according to the same report.
“Offline shops have indeed entered a bottleneck period that is in need of adjustment,” saidJosephine Liang Shangjiu, general manager of Longchamp China, in an interview withthepaper.cn. Liang added that there is so far no luxury e-commerce platform in China thatcan meet luxury brands’ sales requirements.
Longchamp has also opened a boutique on its official WeChat account.
