The implications of digital marketing on WeChat

for luxury fashion brands in China

Sindy Liu
School of Materials, The University of Manchester
Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
[email protected]

Patsy Perry
School of Materials, The University of Manchester
Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
[email protected]

Gregory Gadzinski
INSEEC Research Center
International University of Monaco
2, Avenue Albert II, 98000 Monaco
[email protected]

1
 The implications of digital marketing on WeChat

for luxury fashion brands in China

Abstract:

This paper examines the use of e-commerce and social media marketing within brand

marketing in international luxury fashion retailers in China, focusing on their use of Chinese

social media app WeChat for marketing communications and sales. A multiple case study of 15

international luxury fashion brands active on e-commerce platforms in China was conducted in

2015. Qualitative data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with senior

managers in the retailers’ Chinese head offices and their VIP clients, combined with observation

of the brands’ WeChat accounts. Contrary to previously held beliefs that e-commerce erodes the

fragile perception of luxury brands’ exclusiveness, our findings suggest that concerns over brand

exclusivity due to social media overexposure is irrelevant for the Chinese market, and product

exclusivity remains the prominent element in protecting brand exclusivity. WeChat is

significantly different in its functionality and use from Western social media, and has particular

advantages over other social media for luxury consumers and brand managers within China and

beyond. Finally, the paper presents a conceptual framework for managing luxury brand

marketing in China in the digital era.

Keywords: Luxury, China, Branding, Omnichannel, Social Media, WeChat

2
 1. Introduction

The rapid development of luxury emerging markets since the beginning of the 21st

century provides luxury retailers with immense opportunities, albeit greater challenges than ever

before (Kapferer, 2015). More recently, the luxury sector has been further redefined by

technological advances in communications and the increasing shift to digitalization (Kapferer,

2015; Ko et al., 2016), including online retailing and social media marketing. However, in terms

of accessibility and democratization, use of digital channels for sales and marketing could

conflict with the traditional luxury brand strategy of high control and exclusivity, so most luxury

brands have traditionally shied away from offering goods for sale online or being present on

social media. However, luxury e-commerce is gaining ground (Bain & Co., 2017a) and the e-

commerce market for luxury personal goods showed a 90% increase from 2010-2015

(Euromonitor, 2016). Acknowledging the shift away from a highly controlled and centralized

approach, Chandon et al. (2016) questioned how may luxury brands maintain their dream value

online, and what is the optimal balance between exclusiveness and inclusiveness?

The challenge of luxury brand management becomes even more complex in the growing

Chinese market, which is characterized by younger, digitally savvy luxury consumers, and

rapidly evolving consumer behavior (Liu et al., 2016). Already the largest mobile phone market

in the world, China provides an immense opportunity to embrace digital communication and e-

commerce/m-commerce, yet luxury brands have not fully taken that opportunity (Euromonitor,

2016). The luxury sector faces a challenge in adapting to the new digital world in emerging

economies without losing its value proposition of exclusivity and rarity (Ko et al., 2016; Quach

and Thaichon, 2017). This study seeks to identify the challenges and opportunities of e-

commerce and social media marketing practices by luxury fashion brands in China, and to

3
understand how digital sales and communications channels (in particular WeChat) affect the

traditional luxury brand marketing strategy within the Chinese market and internationally.

The paper begins with a literature review on the opportunities and challenges of e-

commerce for distribution and social media for communication within China’s luxury fashion

retail sector. Next, the qualitative research design is set out, which combines data from

practitioner and consumer interviews with observation of the brands’ WeChat accounts. Findings

from the empirical analysis of luxury fashion brand practitioners and Chinese luxury fashion

consumers highlight the key roles of creative and culturally adapted content, and how the

adoption of m-commerce is shaping successful luxury marketing strategies in China. Finally, the

article draws conclusions and offers managerial implications for luxury fashion brands to better

manage their overall marketing strategy in China and internationally.

2. Literature review

2.1 The opportunities of digital marketing for luxury brands

The use of digital sales and communication channels offer opportunities for luxury brands to

manage omnichannel connections with clients, diffuse brand content and provide higher levels of

service (Kapferer, 2015). Evidence suggests that online word-of-mouth (eWOM) significantly

influences consumer purchase behavior (Chen et al., 2011; Mangold and Faulds, 2009). New

digital media have transformed the ways in which people exchange information and social media

in particular enable customers to exchange information about brands with their network (Chae

and Ko, 2016; Kasabov, 2016). Enabled by advances in internet and communications technology,

consumers increasingly participate with producers in the co-creation of value in the marketplace

(Zwass, 2010). The passive consumer has evolved towards an increasingly “connected,

4
empowered and active customer” (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004, p.8), becoming more

involved in firms’ marketing activities (Chae and Ko, 2016). In the luxury sector, “co-creating

the luxury brand experience involves dialogue and complex interactions between the brand

owner, employee, customer and other social groups including the customer brand communities”,

which could occur online as well as in a physical sense at brand events (Tynan et al., 2010,

p.116). To facilitate the transition from offline to online, brands also need to combine consumer

and community based tactics by putting customers’ emotions at the center of the marketing

strategy (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). The transformation of physical spaces into a multisensorial

experience is fundamental in order to evoke sensations, feelings and behavioral responses

generated by brand stimuli (Brakus et al., 2009). Provided that the digital strategy is fully

integrated into the customer journey, luxury brands can close the gap between the virtual world

and reality to ultimately build a community-based creative experience. Pine and Gilmore (1998,

p.99) noted that “companies stage an experience whenever they engage customers in a personal,

memorable way”. With the increasing significance of the online channel for communication and

distribution within luxury, the use of new technologies also aided the potential for experiential

marketing (Atwal and Williams, 2017), so that engaging customers in a personal, memorable

way could include online as well as offline communications.

2.2 Challenges of online accessibility vs. brand exclusivity

Despite the increasing significance of the internet as a luxury communication and

distribution channel (Atwal and Williams, 2017), there are issues surrounding the online

environment in terms of its accessibility. Marketing luxury goods requires a balance between

satisfying increasing consumer demand in the international market, and maintaining brand status

5
of rarity and exclusivity, in order to manage “the delicate equilibrium between supply and

demand” (Dubois and Paternault, 1995, p.75; Tynan et al., 2010). Furthermore, luxury brand

communication strategies aim to not only sell the product, but also create a dream and reinforce

brand values (Dubois and Paternault, 1995; Dion and Arnould, 2011; Kapferer and Valette-

Florence, 2018). Therefore, traditional luxury brand management strategy was traditionally

characterized by centralization and a high level of control. Exclusivity took precedence over

accessibility and thus e-commerce and social media were not generally seen as appropriate

distribution or communication channels (Dubois and Paternault, 1995; Kapferer and Bastien,

2012). Kapferer (2015, p.725) claimed “all brands look alike online”, and only in the store would

differences between mass and luxury market segments become apparent. Although the internet

and social media are valuable for luxury brands’ marketing communications, they contradict the

principles of luxury brand management, where creating a distance between the brand and

consumers is essential in maintaining the ‘aura’ of luxury brands (Kapferer and Bastein, 2009,

2012).

Luxury brands should exercise restraint in selling via digital channels since this

‘massification’ contradicts the essence of ‘luxury’, namely exclusivity and rarity, and the

potential for rapid penetration via online distribution could thus diminish the crucial dream value

of luxury brands (Kapferer and Bastien, 2012; Kapferer and Valette-Florence, 2018). It may also

be argued that the very nature of social media, in terms of its accessibility and democratization of

communications, conflicts with the traditional luxury brand strategy model of high control and

exclusivity. Although the social value dimension and the perceived brand status and prestige

helps to attract new customers, luxury brands still need to maintain the sense of exclusivity by

offering selective online content and services to loyal customers (Hennigs et al., 2015; Kapferer

6
and Valette-Florence, 2018). Social media are primarily consumer spaces and brands must

therefore relinquish control (Fournier and Avery, 2011). As consumer-brand interactions on

social media can involve other social network users too, value can be co-destroyed as well as co-

created, for example unfavorable perceptions could be drawn if other users ridicule or give

negative feedback about the brand (Quach and Thaichon, 2017). Hence, the democratization of

information access online was traditionally perceived to be incompatible with luxury’s fragile

perceptions of rarity and exclusivity (Okonkwo, 2009; Seringhaus, 2005; Dall’Olmo Riley and

Lacroix, 2003).

More recently however, Kluge and Fassnacht’s (2015) experimental study suggested that

selling online does not negatively affect consumer perceptions of exclusivity. Cristini et al. (2017)

noted that luxury’s traditional association with exclusivity (Okonkwo, 2009; Dion and Arnould,

2011) is increasingly less prevalent as luxury has become reachable and accessible (Yeoman,

2011), meaning that “excellence can come without exclusivity” (Cristini et al., 2017, p.105).

Kapferer and Valette-Florence (2018) questioned whether luxury brands’ desirability still rests

on maintaining some form of rarity and exclusivity, and whether this is more relevant to

traditional Western markets than in Asia. Interestingly, Ko et al.’s (2018) recent definition of

‘luxury brand’ did not explicitly include aspects of exclusivity or rarity.

2.3 Luxury brand marketing in China

The challenge of luxury brand marketing becomes more complex in the emerging

Chinese market, which is characterized by younger and digitally savvy luxury consumers, and

rapidly evolving consumer behavior (Liu et al., 2016; Bain & Co, 2017b). Over the last two

decades, the Chinese economy developed rapidly and China became the third biggest global

7
luxury market after the US and Japan (Euromonitor, 2016; Bain and Co., 2017a). Chinese

consumers have transformed the luxury market, with growth in domestic sales as well as

continued voracious spending as tourists: they make half of all luxury purchases in Asia, and

nearly one-third of those in Europe (Bain & Co., 2015; Bain & Co., 2017a). Globally, nearly one

in three purchases of personal luxury goods is made by Chinese consumers (Bain & Co., 2017a)

with the highest level of growth in e-commerce for luxury personal goods during 2010-2015

coming from China (Euromonitor, 2016). Chinese High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) expect

more personalized services, but most them are accustomed to using digital services and like the

idea of receiving regular information and recommendations via online platforms such as WeChat

and mobile devices (Bain & Co., 2017b). One of the fastest growing cohorts of HNWIs are the

so-called gold-collar professionals, a new generation of entrepreneurs: young, urban and digitally

educated, who now account for 30% of China’s HNWIs, more than twice their 12% share in

2009 (Bain & Co., 2017b) 1.

Chinese luxury purchasing behavior is significantly different to other nationalities,

characterized by a lack of brand loyalty and greater conspicuousness in consumption than

typically seen in culturally opposite Western markets (Liu et al., 2016). In collectivist societies

(such as China), luxury consumption tends to be symbolically driven as a means to achieve

social recognition, compared to the greater hedonic motives seen in more individualistic societies

(Degen, 2009; Shukla and Purani, 2011). Buying luxury products to impress others is still a

dominating factor for luxury consumption in China (Zhan and He, 2012). Chinese luxury

consumers may also be more prudent and cautious, as they rely heavily on the recommendations

of others and rarely buy unknown brands (Berger, 2012; Berger, 2014). Word-of-mouth

1
Overall, there were 1.6 million HNWIs (assets of more than RMB 10 million, USD 1.6 million) in 2016, and
expected to reach more than 1.9 million by 2017.

8
recommendations are the key source of information for Chinese consumers when buying luxury

goods (Berger, 2012), with a greater effect on consumers than seen in individualistic cultures.

Recent Asian consumer research suggests that social media marketing by luxury brands enhances

customer equity because of the conformist culture (Kim and Ko, 2012; Seung-A, 2012). Kim and

Ko (2012) acknowledged the highly positive impact of luxury fashion brands’ social media

marketing strategies on collectivist Asian consumers’ purchase intention. According to Jin

(2012), Louis Vuitton’s social media channels were positively perceived by Asian consumers

with several beneficial outcomes, including attitudes toward the brand and intentions to shop at

the brand’s e-commerce site as well as in retail stores. Stankeviciute (2013) studied Elie Saab’s

social media strategy in Hong Kong for one year and concluded that the highly active social

media strategy helped the brand to establish its image and positioning as a very high-end luxury

brand, without damaging the brand’s exclusivity. This cultural difference could be beneficial for

luxury marketing in China, as the viral effect of social media plays a key role in impacting

consumer behavior by increasing awareness, information acquisition, opinions, attitude, purchase

behavior, post-purchase communication and evaluation (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Therefore,

luxury brands must acknowledge the digital phenomenon in China and its implications for luxury

marketing strategies in order to meet the future demand of Chinese luxury consumers. Industry

reports suggest the luxury industry generally lagged behind in developing a solid digital strategy

in China: Bain & Co. (2016) noted the lack of localized content on luxury brands’ digital

channels while Exane BNP Paribas (2014) highlighted Burberry and very few others as

exceptions that had made some attempts on Chinese social media, focused upon brand

experience. Consequently, the industry may have lost an immense opportunity to reach target

Chinese consumers in the digital space and to take advantage of collectivist behavior by

9
harnessing the word-of-mouth effect via Chinese social media. More recently, however, China’s

luxury market has witnessed several major e-commerce launches as well as experimentation

across WeChat mini programs, omnichannel, direct-to-consumer and e-tailer channels. Some

sophisticated and interactive examples of WeChat campaigns include Montblanc’s VR museum

experience and Michael Kors’ bag customization zone (Farooqi, 2018). This suggests that taking

a broad-brush approach to the digital environment as unsuitable for luxury is too simplistic,

especially in the Chinese market.

CRM is an essential part of luxury brand marketing as it enables brands to make their

customers feel they are part of a community or an exclusive club, to enhance engagement with

existing customers and to recruit new customers, then turning them into ambassadors or even

into recruiters through word-of-mouth (Cailleux et al., 2009). CRM was traditionally conducted

face-to-face, over the phone or via email, using database marketing methods, but the rise in

popularity of social media has led to uptake of social media channels for CRM purposes.

2.3.1 Use of WeChat for luxury brand marketing in China

Since internet censorship prevents Chinese consumers from accessing most Western

social media, local platform WeChat has become China’s dominant social media. A combination

of instant messaging, social gaming and social media (Chen, 2018), its functionality combines

and surpasses that of any Western social media, permitting users to pay for goods and services

both online and offline, book appointments, as well as see contacts’ updates, create private or

public groups, send instant messages, and make voice and video calls. By providing such a

variety of social functions, WeChat has become an integral part of the Chinese lifestyle for both

business and leisure, rather than just another social media app (Chen, 2018; Long, 2017;

10
Curiosity China, 2018). Furthermore, the development of mini-programs, or third party sub-apps

that exist within WeChat, allows brands to provide advanced benefits to users such as

ecommerce, coupons and loyalty programs, without users needing to download a separate app.

Due to its vastness and integration of online and offline services, WeChat has become a ‘one-

stop shop’ for Chinese users’ daily lives (Chen, 2018), with most users opening it more than 10

times daily and some using it significantly more often (Tencent Pinguin Research, 2016).

WeChat also permits one-to-one personalized and dedicated interaction between brands

and users (Chen, 2018) and has been heralded as an effective tool for luxury CRM, with its

functionality allowing brands to develop a range of marketing initiatives from immersive

branding campaigns to boutique appointment systems and integrated WeChat e-commerce

(Curiosity China, 2018). Users simply scan their WeChat QR code to connect with another

individual (e.g. luxury sales personnel), without needing to provide any other contact details.

This permits highly personalized brand-consumer communications, which is paramount for high-

end consumers: according to LuxurySociety (2017), 86% of Chinese millionaires care about

customized experiences when purchasing luxury products and services. By connecting directly

with a sales associate, consumers may access customer service at any time and in any place, no

matter if they are at home or traveling. Sales associates engage in one-on-one interactions by

messaging with the consumer to provide information and answer questions, and may also post

events and offers to their client list. Customers are more likely to view posts that appear on their

newsfeed from a friend, which helps to address the generally low open rate of official brand

campaigns on WeChat (Zheng, 2017). The use of WeChat in Chinese luxury retailing has

become so commonplace that some brands provide staff with company-owned mobile devices,

and in the event they resign, they must also hand back the device containing their contacts

11
(Zheng, 2018). As luxury retailers seek to promote extra-ordinary shopping experiences in-store

by way of brand advisors and customer service (Berger, 2014), the use of WeChat by sales

associates supports the integration of offline and online channels. Such highly personalized brand

communications using social media are not typically seen in Western markets. However, the

practice has begun to extend beyond China (Wing, 2017), as seen for example in US department

store retailer Neiman Marcus’ (2018) job advert for a US store-based ‘WeChat Sales Associate’.

Some brands publicly set up their own CRM system on a master WeChat account, located on a

public i-Pad in-store, where customers could input their birthday (Zheng, 2017).

With China being the most important market for luxury brands and Chinese travelers

being the prominent driving force behind luxury consumption (Curiosity China, 2018; Farooqi,

2018), a business challenge exists between the need to conduct active digital marketing and e-

commerce activities to adapt to the digitally-driven lifestyle of Chinese consumers and the need

to prevent dilution of luxury brand exclusivity by being too accessible. To date however, no

study has been conducted on luxury brands’ digital marketing strategies in China. Therefore, to

identify the appropriate adjustments for luxury brand marketing in China, our ultimate research

question is:

RQ: How do e-commerce and social media, and WeChat in particular, reshape

traditional luxury brand marketing in China?

3. Methodology

Following previous studies on luxury fashion retailers’ strategies which adopted

qualitative approaches (Dion and Arnould, 2011; Tynan et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2016), a multiple

case study of 15 international luxury fashion retailers in China was conducted in 2015. As the

12
world’s largest emerging market for luxury goods and a global leader in the digitalization of

brands (Exane BNP Paribas, 2015), China represents the ideal case to examine the impact of e-

commerce and social media marketing on luxury brand management (Kapferer, 2015).

Qualitative data were gathered from practitioner interviews, consumer interviews and

observation of the brands’ WeChat accounts. With over 700 million daily users and 55% of daily

users opening the app more than 10 times daily in 2015, WeChat is the most important marketing

communication platform in China (Liu et al., 2016; Curiosity China, 2018). It is also the most

relevant for luxury brand-consumer communications (Curiosity China, 2018), compared with

Weibo, for example, which is a public account that does not facilitate CRM in the same way, as

its functionality does not permit brand accounts to communicate with consumers on a personal

one-to-one level.

3.1 Respondent sample

Each case included one in-depth company interview and one in-depth consumer

interview, alongside documentary analysis of internal company reports and observation of the

brands’ official accounts on WeChat. In this study, the term ‘luxury fashion’ is taken to include

items that can be worn on the person such as apparel, watches, jewelry and leather goods (Zhang

and Kim, 2013). Following similar approaches in recent luxury branding research (Kapferer and

Valette-Florence, 2018; Liu et al., 2016), the sample of brands was identified using the luxury

associations of four countries from which most luxury fashion brands originate (Fondazonie

Altagamma, Italy; Comite Colbert, France; Walpole, UK; CFDA, USA), luxury market reports

(Bain & Co., McKinsey & Co.), online databases (WGSN, Business of Fashion) and top fashion

magazines (Vogue, Elle). The authors checked each brand’s WeChat account, with a total of 28

13
found to be active in 2015. These 28 brands were contacted and ultimately a final self-selected

sample of 15 companies (representative in terms of size, country of origin and scope of product

range) agreed to participate (see Table 1). The multi-brand retailers participating in this study are

also members of the aforementioned committees, ensuring the luxury positioning of all

participants. Following Riot et al. (2013), company respondents were selected on the basis of

their ability to provide rich, insightful information on the topic, hence each respondent was at

senior management level with in-depth knowledge of the Chinese market. The consumer

respondents were the retailers’ VIP clients, who were suggested by the companies. They are

HNWIs who purchase luxury goods on a regular basis and frequently use WeChat to

communicate with the luxury retailers’ CRM teams. This consumer profile ensured that

respondents had sufficient experience of luxury brand marketing activities on e-commerce and

social media platforms. Adopting a purposive sampling strategy within each company to access

senior managers with relevant expertise and depth of involvement allowed for the creation of

information-rich cases (Patton, 2002). Table 1 below shows the sample breakdown and

respondents’ details for each case.

Table 1: Sample breakdown

Respondents Number of
Luxury brand Country of
(product category) origin interviews

1. Multi-brand E-retailer UK CEO; VIP Client 2

2. Apparel & accessories UK International Marketing Director; VIP Client 2

3. Apparel & accessories Italy Branding Consultant; VIP Client 2

4. Lingerie UK Head of E-commerce; VIP Client 2

5. Multi-brand E-retailer UK Marketing Executive; VIP Client 2

6. Watches Switzerland VIP Service Specialist; VIP Client 2

14
 7. Watches & jewelry USA PR Director, China; VIP Client 2

Marketing Director, China; 2

8. Watches & jewelry France
VIP Client
9. Writing instruments, Chinese Account Manager; VIP Client 2
Germany
watches & accessories
Director of Chinese Market Business Development; 2
10. Watches & jewelry UK
VIP Client

11. Department Store Hong Kong Creative Director; VIP Client 2

12. Leather goods & apparel France PR Manager, China; VIP Client 2

International Marketing Director; 2

13. Apparel UK
VIP Client

14. Leather goods & apparel France Marketing Manager Asia Pacific; VIP Client 2

International Marketing and Communication 2

15. Department Store UK
Manager, Asia Pacific; VIP Client

3.2 Topic Guide

The interview topic guide was created from the literature review, as shown in Table 2

below, concentrating on the impact of e-commerce and social media marketing on the overall

brand marketing strategy in China. Semi-structured interviews were chosen as the most

appropriate interview format, in order to guide respondents throughout the interview and to allow

them to express their views in their own terms.

Table 2: Interview topic guide

Brand interviews Consumer interviews

How important is it to use Chinese social How important is it for luxury brands to use Chinese
media platforms? social media platforms?

What are the key platforms you currently use? Which one(s) are the dominant platform(s) brands to
use? And why?
Do you hire local Chinese or conduct
operations within your head office? Which brands are doing well? Can you name your

15
What are the advantages and disadvantages of top three choices and provide examples?
this management approach?
Have these digital marketing strategies increased
Has your business performance been affected your interest or/and loyalty to these brands?
in China because of such social media Examples?
activities? And in which way?
Can you identify the key success factors of these
Based on your company’s experience, what are luxury brands’ digital marketing strategies?
the key success factors for managing Chinese
What other key marketing communication strategies
social media platforms?
should luxury brands conduct in China?
What problems are you facing/have you faced
In your opinion, which brands are doing the best
on Chinese social media?
marketing communication offline? And overall?
If you have started to conduct e/m-commerce
How important is it to adapt to Chinese culture when
in China, what would be the key challenges?
conducting digital marketing strategies? Examples?
Has this affected your brand’s image and
Is e/m-commerce necessary for luxury brands? Why?
positioning, in and out of China?
Any additional comments on future development of
What is your outlook for luxury e/m-commerce
luxury retailing/marketing in China?
in and outside of China in the foreseeable
future?

The first author conducted an average of two semi-structured face-to-face interviews,

lasting an average of 90 minutes in total, within each brand. The interviews were conducted in

Chinese, recorded with permission from all participants, transcribed and translated into English.

Identities were anonymized on the request of respondents.

3.3 Theme generation and data analysis

Template analysis facilitated data organization and reduction (King, 2012), enabling systematic

comparison of themes across a large body of data to provide a rich and detailed account (Braun

and Clarke, 2006). From the literature review, the authors generated a priori codes to create the

16
initial template for analysis. The flexibility of template analysis allowed the incorporation, where

appropriate, of additional codes as the interpretive process proceeded (King, 2012). Utilizing

established qualitative data analysis principles to identify cross-connections and relationships

within the data (Miles and Huberman, 2002), the authors analyzed the data deductively, by

coding the interview transcripts according to key themes identified in the literature, and

inductively, with themes emerging from the data itself (Braun and Clarke, 2006). The authors

then revisited the literature alongside the preliminary analysis, which led to re-coding and

refinement of themes and categories to create a final template for structuring the final analysis

(King, 2012), as shown in Table 3 below. Observation of the companies’ WeChat accounts were

combined with the interview data as supporting evidence.

Table 3: Final template for data analysis

Digital strategies in Development pattern Specific strategies

China
1. Importance 1.1 Necessity as a communication 1.1.1 Focus on social media, especially WeChat
channel 1.1.2 Microblogging as a brand awareness tool
1.1.3 De-centralized in-house e-commerce/m-
commerce and communication
2. Implications 2.1 Advantages 2.1.1 Lower cost
2.1.2 Wider & faster
2.1.3 Direct interaction with consumers
2.1.4 Higher brand visibility
2.1.5 Big Data for targeted marketing
2.2 Disadvantages 2.2.1 Language and culture differences
2.2.4. High upfront investment
3. Success 3.1 Creativity and innovation 3.3.1 High levels of creativity
factors & 3.3.2 Storytelling
challenges 3.3.3 Links with retail strategies
3.2 Adaptation to Chinese culture 3.2.1 High level of cultural adaptation

17
 3.2.2 Interactive content
3.2.3 Targeted marketing
3.2.4 Local key opinion leaders (KOL)
3.3 Global strategy 3.3.1 Omnichannel seamlessness
3.3.2 Consistent marketing messages across
regional markets
3.3.3 Incorporate Chinese digital channels into
international training programs
4. Current & 4.1 As a strategic focus for luxury 4.1.1 Higher level of decentralization
future brand management in China 4.1.2 Tailored CRM programs
trends 4.1.3 M-commerce emphasis
4.1.4 Digital Word-Of-Mouth
4.2 Barriers in China 4.2.2 Investment costs similar to media company
4.2.3 Cost of analyzing Big Data

4. Results and discussion

The WeChat platform was clearly identified as the focus of luxury marketing

communications in China. In addition, WeChat is seen to improve offline retail and CRM

management better than any other digital platforms in China, as it elevates the impact of brands’

offline activities and greatly facilitate CRM. Moreover, it is identified as a key channel for

conducting m-commerce. Our findings revealed several strategic implications of how

international luxury fashion brands adapt to Chinese consumers’ digitally driven lifestyles.

Firstly, brands completely decentralize operational control to the China team due to the high

level of cultural adaption required. Secondly, high levels of creativity and technological

innovation are used to enhance brand communications, to an extent not yet seen outside China.

Our findings also identify that m-commerce, rather than e-commerce, is the predominant channel

for online retailing in China, and that a seamless omnichannel strategy is the key success factor

in enticing Chinese luxury consumers.

18
 4.1.WeChat as a key marketing communication channel in China

In terms of current practices, findings suggest that WeChat is the most effective marketing

communication platform in the Chinese market. All respondents emphasized the significance of

WeChat as the only social media platform that has been integrated into Chinese consumers’ daily

lives, becoming the predominant information feed channel. Not only is it a unified platform that

comprises the functions of many of the popular (yet banned) Western social media, including

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, it boasts other benefits such as phone/video call, file

transfer, money transfer and taxi hailing capabilities. WeChat thus enables consumers to interact

with brands at a more personal level than any other forms of social media, as emphasized by VIP

no.5:

“Most Western companies still don’t recognize the importance of WeChat in China. WeChat is

part of every Chinese’s life, it’s our preferred way of communication with people and

brands…WeChat is THE center of all information resources for Chinese people. So if a brand is

not communicating on WeChat, the brand is invisible.”

All repondents shared similar views that WeChat is the preferred communication channel of

Chinese consumers. This confirms Liu et al.’s (2016) point that Chinese social media is essential

for luxury brands’ marketing strategy in China. It also identifies WeChat as the most effective

channel for luxury retailers to target Chinese consumers, and most importantly, to conduct CRM

with upscale Chinese luxury consumers, since retaining the most important clientele enables

brands to maintain their luxury status (Cailleux et al., 2009). Neither practitioner nor consumer

respondents expressed any concern over ‘exclusivity’; on the contrary, active participation on

WeChat by luxury brands was seen to elevate brand desirability if conducted in a highly creative

way.

19
 Furthermore, 28 out of 30 respondents (including all 15 VIPs) confirmed that WeChat

enables the most efficient WOM effect in China, as Chinese consumers of all ages and

professions tend to share and make recommendations to their peers. The convenient and private

nature of WeChat thus provides luxury brands with the best platform to fully utilize the

collectivist behavioral characteristics of Chinese consumers (Shukla and Purani, 2011).

4.2. Digital vs. traditional luxury marketing strategies in China

Our findings suggest that digital marketing strategies are reshaping luxury marketing

management in China. All 15 practitioner respondents acknowledged that digital marketing has

been the strategic focus of luxury brand marketing in China since 2013, and is believed to now

parallel or have even overtaken some traditional marketing strategies, especially print advertising

which was formerly seen as the most important luxury marketing communication medium

(Kapferer and Bastien, 2012). Whilst this does not mean traditional marketing communication

strategies can be dismissed, it does mean they can get lost in such a vast country as China, as

indicated by the Marketing Director of Company 7:

“WeChat has really revolutionized luxury strategy in China in a big way since 2013, most brands

including us noticed a much faster and greater shift into digital marketing in China compared to

other markets. Life in China is super-fast paced, so convenience and speed are very important to

Chinese people. Traditional marketing strategies are still important such as advertising and

events, but if you do not interpret well on WeChat nowadays, the messages simply get lost, so the

biggest challenge for every brand in China now is how to integrate WeChat into traditional

marketing effectively.”

For smaller brands or brands new to China, a digital marketing strategy is even more

effective, because it provides the fastest channel to build up brand awareness at a relatively lower

20
cost, if the management team understands target consumers in China. Furthermore, it can aid

well-known brands to maintain their brand visibility and increase brand loyalty. All respondents

indicated that Chinese consumers lack brand loyalty, therefore they need luxury brands to

constantly create interesting content to entice them toward the brands and their product offering.

For instance, the PR Manager of Company 3 explained how WeChat helped the company to

regain its popularity in China:

“Compared to the events we conducted three years ago without using WeChat, now the words

spread faster and stronger because Chinese like to share and follow their peer’s opinions. We’re

also able to communicate with Chinese customers at a highly interactive level, such as

collaborating with Uber Shanghai, by using our WeChat QR code, customers can get discount on

both the ride and the exhibition tickets, and we’ve received a much higher volume of visitors than

we expected. But of course, the exhibition has been a huge success of itself, so it’s about having a

multi-channel strategy.”

What remains more exclusive are “experiences”, precisely because these cannot be

commoditized online. One of the most powerful forms of conspicuous consumption today is not

the accumulation of goods but the accumulation of memories and stories. These are precious

because they cannot be replicated. For example, Company 2 increased activities to provide their

Chinese VIPs with unforgettable experiences such as invitations to the most exclusive ski resorts

to test their new ski jackets; Company 8 invited their art collector Chinese VIPs to participate in

the curation of the brand’s exhibition. From observation of WeChat brand accounts, smaller

brands newer to China (such as Companies 3 and 4) performed well on WeChat, with their

regular feeds featuring creative content achieving higher reads and reposts than much larger and

more established brands (such as Companies 12 and 15). This supports the finding that providing

a better experience to target audiences via their most relevant communication channel is a highly

21
effective marketing strategy in China, as well as saving costs compared to traditional marketing

tactics.

4.3 Overall impact of digitalization on international brand marketing

Findings suggest two key impacts of luxury digital strategies in China on the companies’

overall international luxury branding management. Firstly, the digital management team must be

decentralized from European head offices, to ensure the most suitable digital content and service

is created and provided, as indicated by the Director of Chinese Market Business Development

of Company 10, a very high-end British luxury jeweler:

“Now is the turning point of the Chinese luxury market, consumers are very mature, especially

the HNWIs in tier 1 and most tier 2 cities, so brands must give up their power to local team, to

provide better service more suitable for the Chinese culture. My editor friends told me that

online contents they put include many slangs compared to their prints, so you need local people

to understand how to adapt to the cultural differences, which is much higher online than offline.”

Secondly, Chinese consumers’ advanced level of mobile device adoption and use of WeChat

as key communication platform have created problems for the consistency of luxury brands’

international service level and the overall brand message. This was acknowledged by many

practitioner respondents, including the VIP Service Specialist of Company 6:

“Chinese shop with WeChat! Since 2013 we noticed that our clients, both the very high-end and

the first-timers, come to the store, immediately open WeChat, and show us our WeChat feeds of

the products they wanted…however, most of the international sales do not have any knowledge

about what have been posted on WeChat, which indicates bad service to the customers and the

loss of potential sales.”

22
To overcome this problem, several practitioner respondents stated that they had already begun to

amend their international staff training programs to include training on WeChat functions and

digital content creation by the decentralized Chinese teams. This reinforces the key service

dimension of the luxury brand (Kapferer and Bastien, 2012), as emphasized by Company 12’s

PR Manager for China:

“For luxury brands, the service consistency is highly important, we had complaints from lots of

Chinese customers in the past few years that the salespeople at our international stores do not

even know what we posted on WeChat, so our head office amended our training program and

now our sales team in our stores across Europe understand the power of WeChat and what our

Chinese team promoted on there. In order to ensure an international seamlessness service, our

Chinese sales within our international stores use WeChat for CRM, and communicate our stock

with Chinese clients who now travel very often.”

13 out of 15 practitioner respondents confirmed that incorporating WeChat into international

training programs also helps marketing managers to conduct localized communication strategies

targeting Chinese travelers, such as in-store events during the traveling high seasons, based on

the brands’ WeChat content.

In addition, findings acknowledged the importance of highly controlled retail distribution

channels for luxury brands, which is seen as a key element in successful luxury brand

management (Kapferer and Valette-Florence, 2016). WeChat account observations evidenced the

danger of diluting brand image through e-commerce, such as a lack of product and marketing

consistency. User comments on Company’s 2 WeChat account showed confusion over product

authenticity on Company 2’s Tmall site, due to differences in selection and presentation of

merchandise compared to the brand’s official website. Other companies also acknowledged the

importance of direct ownership of e/m-commerce activities worldwide, especially in emerging

23
luxury markets such as China, where maintaining brand desirability remains the biggest

challenge, as indicated by the International Marketing Director of Company 2:

“We originally signed the deal with Tmall for e-commerce in China, but we had many complaints

from customers, which indicated the inconsistency of products, service and marketing content to

our official website. This, in the long term, could dilute our image in China.”

In order to protect their brand image, Company 2 ended its e-commerce partnership with a

Chinese partner and reinstated head office control of its directly-owned e/m-retailing channel in

China. Full control of e/m-commerce also provides luxury brands with a centralized consumer

database system, as indicated by the same respondent:

“We now conduct our e-commerce in China directly. The millennial customers are truly ‘global

citizens’, they research brands online across all international digital channels, so consistency is

highly important, and at the same time, it enables us to gather consumer data and then managing

it effectively and directly.”

Therefore, control of e/m-commerce helps luxury brands to maintain their exclusive distribution

channels, avoiding the danger of overexpansion of physical stores that often results in dilution of

brand desirability (Kapferer and Bastein, 2012). Nevertheless, all respondents emphasized the

importance of omnichannel seamlessness. The Marketing Director of Company 8 expressed a

positive outlook for the brand’s newly launched e-commerce site which is promoted and linked

to its WeChat channel, enabling a seamless omnichannel experience:

“Contrary to the belief that offering a wide range of luxury goods online will affect brand

exclusivity, Chinese consumers demand that and they do not think it affects the brand image; but of

course, the important thing is to manage everything in-house to maintain control of the e/m-commerce

and make a seamless connection with social media and our boutiques.”

24
 4.4.Key success factors for luxury digital strategies in China

Three key success factors for luxury brands’ digital strategies in China emerged from the

data: the need for creative and culturally adapted content on social media, and omnichannel

seamlessness.

4.4.1 Creative social media content

Literature suggests that cultural adaptation is a very important factor that affects Chinese

consumers’ luxury brand awareness level (Chevalier & Lu, 2010; Liu et al., 2016). Within the

digital world, content must be highly creative, preferably utilizing new technologies that enable a

high level of interaction with Chinese consumers. Three luxury brands were notably mentioned

by respondents in this respect: Cartier was the most mentioned brand with the highest level of

creative content on WeChat (mentioned 25 times out of 30); then Tiffany (22 times out of 30),

and Burberry (20 times out of 30). Observation of these companies’ WeChat accounts supports

this sequence, as these three companies had the most WeChat feeds with highly creative content

and use of innovative technologies, and most importantly, the greatest number of views. The

importance of creative content was highlighted by many practitioner respondents, for instance

Company 8’s Marketing Director for the Chinese market:

“Translating Western media content into Chinese social media does not work anymore! We focus

on the quality of our WeChat content, and we’re making bold decisions in China because we

realized that Chinese consumers are extremely digital savvy and demand a very high level of

interaction with luxury brands.”

Company 8 is the leading luxury jewelry retailer and is pioneering e/m-commerce worldwide. In

China, the company has been groundbreaking in its innovative m-commerce strategy via WeChat,

as explained by the Marketing Director:

25
 “For the launch of our new classic watch, we used WeChat as the initial launch channel

compared to a previous lavish event; it paid off for us, because it’s to date the most innovative

WeChat campaign, the watch appears one detail after another when shaking one’s phone and you

can virtually touch the details, then the customers can directly pre-order the watch via WeChat

channel, and speak with sales people directly via this feed. The feedback according to our

consumer research is excellent, as Chinese customers find the ‘game-like’ feed intriguing and fun,

and our VIP customers have told us it’s much more interesting than a plain advertising and being

contacted by sales people directly via the feed elevated our service level.”

Company 3 collaborated with taxi app Uber Shanghai via the brand’s official WeChat account to

encourage consumers to visit the brand’s exhibition free of charge, thus providing convenience

and service to consumers. All respondents gave positive views of such creative social media

initiatives, which demonstrate the brand’s creativity in marketing communication and contribute

to the creation of competitive advantage.

4.4.2 Cultural adaptation of content

Secondly, a high level of cultural adaptation is needed for a successful social media

strategy in China, as indicated by the PR Director of Company 7:

“It is very important to adapt to the Chinese culture when communicating. For example, during

Chinese Valentine’s Day, we invited a Chinese poet to write a poem as a celebration of ‘love’,

which not only emphasized our international consistent brand image, it localized the content

because ‘love’ is interpreted differently in Chinese culture. If a brand is able to recognize and

adapt to such local level, it shows that the brand truly understands Chinese consumers.”

She went on to indicate further that content skills were brought in via talent acquisition from

related industries:

26
 “We now hire previous editors from renowned fashion magazines to work in our editorial team,

they know how to create the best media content in China without misinterpreting our key

branding messages.”

This strategy of hiring media specialists was confirmed by 13 out of 15 practitioner respondents,

which suggests that luxury companies, and not only retailers, must react to the demanding

Chinese consumers by creating high quality editorial content. Respondents also expressed the

importance of follow-up strategies for bigger campaigns, such as interactive apps and tailored

CRM programs with their high-end clients, featuring high levels of creativity. For instance, VIP

no.4 stated:

“Cartier is always creative, the exhibition they conducted is the most artistic I’ve been to, both in

China and in Paris, and they wrote interesting stories about them. Tiffany has been very creative

as well on their big campaigns. They create interesting contents that people actually want to read

and repost for them, and they follow up with a highest level of service and other storytelling

contents, such as tailored CRM program to enable a personalized service.”

This echoes previous work by Hennigs et al. (2012) who showed that sophisticated value-based

concepts of emotional product and brand differentiation are required to create a holistic brand.

Furthermore, 28 out of 30 respondents highlighted the effectiveness of working with Chinese

KOLs (key opinion leaders), as indicated by VIP no.10:

“It’s always better received if the campaign is promoted by a familiar local face, although

nowadays wealthy Chinese travel a lot and are familiar with international pop culture, we feel

more identifiable with Chinese personalities As a nation, we’re obsessed with celebrities and we

tend to blindly follow celebrities, even elderly people are like this, which is very different from the

Western culture where people tend to become more critical thinkers as they age.”

This significant cultural difference confirms that the WOM effect can be highly positive for

luxury brands in China, if the KOL has been chosen strategically. Observation of Companies 4,
27
6 and 9’s WeChat accounts showed that collaborative limited edition products to commemorate

Chinese festivals sold out within 20 minutes of being offered for sale directly via WeChat during

various festival periods. In these cases, brands succeeded in developing creative content adapted

to local market preferences (Bain & Co., 2016) by incorporating specific cultural elements, as

well as producing relevant products. In contrast, other companies that only created WeChat posts

and products based on a superficial understanding of Chinese culture received very little

attention. Therefore, a decentralized approach where local teams understand cultural elements in-

depth and are able to speak to local consumers directly is an essential strategy for marketing

success in China, as opposed to the centralized approach seen across most Western social media

in international markets.

4.4.3. Omnichannel seamlessness

Findings suggest that an omnichannel strategy, including e-commerce and m-commerce,

is the strategic focus of luxury branding in China now and for the foreseeable future. Although

only five companies conducted e-commerce at the time of data collection in 2015, all HNWIs

shared highly positive views of e-commerce and indicated that m-commerce should be the future

focus of luxury companies. Therefore, contrary to Kapferer and Bastien (2012), our insights from

Chinese HNWIs support the assumption that selling products online does not affect the overall

exclusivity of luxury brands’ image. In contrast, Chinese consumers require luxury goods to be

available via mobile devices, and all indicated their preference for being directly linked to brands’

e-shops. Consumer respondents felt that all information should be made available online,

including prices, with provision of CRM services on very high-end goods. Nonetheless, most

recognized the need to retain certain products for personal selling in-store in China, such as fine

28
jewelry and watches. Similarly, practitioner respondents noted that as long as high-end pieces

that most signified brand image were retained for in-store selling, availability of other products,

such as entry-level accessories, for online purchase did not affect overall brand desirability. For

example, Company 12 produced limited edition handbags for Chinese Valentine’s Day and sold

them via WeChat instead of in-store. Being offered in limited quantities on a ‘first come first

served’ basis was in line with company practice for in-store products. Such initiatives enable

luxury brands to protect brand exclusivity by managing product exclusivity, whilst still

maximizing brand visibility to the mass through digital marketing tactics.

Many HNWI respondents confirmed that Chinese consumers are more demanding than

other markets. Exclusive services are a sine qua non part of luxury management, which includes

excellent product presentation, skilled sales personnel and time flexibility. For example, VIP

no.3 indicated that:

“I think it’s essential for companies especially luxury companies to offer the extra level of service

and at the moment it’s just not there. Sunday delivery is normal in China; now many Chinese

companies offer cash on delivery service, allow you to try out the products while the delivery men

are waiting.”

All five luxury companies that conducted e-commerce in China at the time of data collection

in 2015 indicated no concern over exclusivity, and predicted strong growth for the future in e-

commerce and m-commerce. However, the Creative Director of Company 11 highlighted the

challenges of effectively utilizing big data to better understand consumers and inform future e/m-

commerce initiatives, especially in such a vast market as China:

“I think the challenge for all e-retailers in China is big data, because it’s more overwhelming

because of the size of the market, we now have a CDO (Chief Data Officer) who manages a team of

analysts, in order to help us understand consumers better, which is even more important in such a

29
 vast and complicated market like China. The Holy Grail is when you truly understand consumers at

an in-depth level, and then you can come up with creative contents to entice them and get them more

involved regarding service or product.”

While the overall aims of brand management remain the same in the digital world (i.e. to

sustain and grow the business), traditional models that emphasize quality and seduction

objectives (see Kapferer and Valette-Florence, 2016) must be updated. The equivalent e-

component of the former objectives must induce strategies that respond to the needs of a new

generation of clients and, in this case, the particular characteristics of Chinese consumers.

Developed from the outputs of our study, Figure 1 below provides a summary of the findings and

highlights the changes occurring in digital marketing management for international luxury

fashion brands in China. This model could also serve as a guiding framework for existing and

new luxury brand managers in their quest to conquer the Chinese market.

Figure 1: Luxury fashion brand management model in the digital era: the case of China

Luxury Brand
Desirability,
Awareness, Brand Management Aims
Market Share
Digital Branding Objectives

E-Product and
Digital Digital Strategies
E-Services
Seduction
Quality

Digitally Exclusive Creative

Omnichannel Cultural Tailored Social
Trained Sales Distribution Media
Consistency Adaptation Media CRM
Staff Channels Content

30
5. Conclusion and implications

The growing importance of the internet for marketing and sales is undeniable to luxury

retailers, and the key strategic implications facing luxury retailers are identifying how luxury

brands can maintain their dream value online and finding the optimal balance between

exclusiveness and inclusiveness (Chandon et al., 2016). This becomes even more important in

China, as one of the world’s biggest and most complex markets in terms of consumer behavior.

This study concludes that digital strategies for the Chinese market are much more

prominent than recognized in previous studies, and our findings suggest that concern over brand

exclusivity in the digital sphere is less relevant in the Chinese market, as long as the key brand

message is consistent with offline marketing, and e-commerce is fully controlled by the company

with limited distribution of products in accordance with the brand’s positioning. This is contrary

to previously held beliefs that e-commerce erodes the fragile perception of luxury brands’

exclusiveness (Kapferer and Bastien, 2012; Seringhaus, 2005). Our findings align with Kluge

and Fassnacht’s (2015) conclusion that e/m-commerce need not affect consumer perceptions of

luxury exclusivity and Cristini et al.’s (2017) proposition that exclusivity is not always a

necessary criterion of luxury in the contemporary mass-production era of accessible luxury

(Yeoman, 2011). Our findings suggest that m-commerce and social media in fact reinforce

luxury brand image and loyalty by enabling higher levels of service provision and convenience

to demanding and digitally savvy Chinese consumers. A very high level of cultural adaptation is

required for creating the most suitable digital strategies in China, to an extent not seen in other

markets; therefore requiring a very high level of decentralization. In particular, a much heavier

investment allocation is required to build successful digital management teams, with talent

acquisition of a Chief Data Officer and Chinese media content specialists necessary to fully

31
exploit the cultural perspectives of developing successful digital strategies. E/m-commerce sites

must be fully controlled by the companies’ Chinese subsidiaries rather than local partners, to

ensure consistency with offline marketing and product distribution.

This study identifies a number of key strategic implications from an operational

perspective. Firstly, luxury marketers need to discover how their brands are recognized in the

Chinese community and pay more attention to efficient ways of improving the social meaning

that the brands provide to attract more Chinese consumers. Secondly, as Chinese consumers

demand a seamless omnichannel brand experience to a greater extent than seen in other markets,

luxury companies must incorporate international staff training about WeChat, with a particular

focus on the brands’ own WeChat content and on Chinese consumer behavior, to enable

seamless service delivery across international stores. This could also add value to international

marketing activities targeted at Chinese travelers, a key luxury consumer segment (Euromonitor,

2016). Thirdly, traditional marketing communications strategies are still important in China, but

because of the low brand loyalty that this study affirms (Liu et al., 2016), luxury companies need

to reinterpret their traditional marketing communications more innovatively in the digital sphere,

for example by using storytelling content and interactive activities to increase the brand’s

desirability in consumers’ minds. When managed well, digital strategies can enhance luxury

brand experience and help brands consolidate their existing retail network and creatively engage

with customers more freely and cost-efficiently.

The main limitation of this study is its relatively small sample size; nonetheless, for

empirical research to generate insights and understanding of the implications of the digital

strategies in the current Chinese luxury market, this is a significant sample size, in terms of the

total amount of luxury retailers currently active on WeChat and with e/m-commerce activities in

32
China. Given the rapid development of the Chinese e-commerce and social media platforms,

several aspects identified in this study could be investigated further. For instance, the

implications of a greater uptake of e-commerce and m-commerce by luxury retailers in China

should be investigated, with an emphasis on a quantitative study of consumers’ attitudes, such as

brand loyalty and brand switching behaviors, to contribute to the further development of

knowledge on luxury service strategies in the digital era.

References

Atwal, G. and Williams, A. (2017) Luxury brand marketing – The experience is everything! In

J.-N. Kapferer et al. (eds.) Advances in Luxury Brand Management, Journal of Brand

Management: Advanced Collections, 43-57, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-51127-6_3.

Bain & Co. (2015) “China luxury market study”, available at:

http://www.bain.com/about/press/press-releases/chinas-luxury-market-shrinks-in-2014-press-

release.aspx (accessed 1 April 2018).

Bain & Co. (2016) “China luxury report”, available at: http://www.bain.com/about/press/press-

releases/China-Luxury-Report-2016-press-release.aspx (accessed 1 April 2018).

Bain & Co. (2017a) “Worldwide Monitor Luxury 2017 – Spring Update”, available at

http://www.bain.de/en/Images/FINAL%20Bain%20Luxury%20Study%20Spring%20Update%2

0_May2017.pdf (accessed 1 April 2018).

Bain & Co. (2017b) “2017 China Private Wealth Report”, available at

http://www.bain.cn/pdfs/201708170645512300.pdf (accessed 1 April 2018).

33
Berger, R. (2012) “Chinese consumer report – luxury”, available at

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/48770474/chinese-consumer-report-2012-luxury-

roland-berger (accessed 1 April 2018).

Berger, R. (2014) “Travel retail in Asia”, available at

https://www.rolandberger.com/en/Publications/pub_travel_retail_in_asia.html (accessed 1 April

2018).

Brakus, J.J., Schmitt, B.H. and Zarantonello, L. (2009) Brand Experience: What is it? How is it

measured? Does it affect loyalty? Journal of Marketing 73 (3): 52-68.

Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in

Psychology 3, 77-101.

Cailleux, H., Mignot, M. and Kapferer, J.N. (2009) Is CRM for luxury brands? Journal of Brand

Management 16(5-6): 406-412.

Chae, H. and Ko, E. (2016) Customer social participation in the social networking services and

its impact upon the customer equity of global fashion brands. Journal of Business Research 69(9):

3804-3812.

Chandon, J.-L., Laurent, G. and Valette-Florence, P. (2016) Pursuing the concept of luxury:

Introduction to the JBR Special Issue on ‘Luxury marketing from tradition to innovation’.

Journal of Business Research 69(1): 299-303.

Chen, P.-C. (2018) The development path of WeChat: Social, political and ethical challenges. In

Y.-C. Kim and P.-C. Chen (eds.) The Digitization of Business in China, Palgrave Macmillan

Asian Business Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-79048-0_5, 127-152.

Chen, Y., Fay, S. and Wang, Q. (2011) The role of marketing in social media: How online

consumer reviews evolve. Journal of Interactive Marketing 25 (2): 85-94.

34
Chevalier, M. and Lu, P. (2010) Luxury China: Market opportunities and potential. Wiley.

Cristini, H., Kauppinen-Räisänen, H., Barthod-Prothade, M. and Woodside, A. (2017) Toward a

general theory of luxury: Advancing from workbench definitions and theoretical transformations.

Journal of Business Research 70: 101-107.

Curiosity China (2018) “WeChat Report, the year in luxury: The keys to succeed in 2018”,

available at: https://curiositychina.com/blog/wp-

content/uploads/2018/01/CuriosityChina_WeChat-the-Year-in-Luxury-2017-2018.pdf (accessed

1 April 2018).

Dall’Olmo Riley, F. and Lacroix, C. (2003) Luxury branding on the Internet: lost opportunity or

impossibility? Marketing Intelligence & Planning 21(2): 96-104.

Degan, R.J. (2009) Opportunity for luxury brands in China. IUP Journal of Brand Management 6:

75-85.

Dion, D. and Arnould, E. (2011) Retail luxury strategy: assembling charisma through art and

magic. Journal of Retailing, 87(4): 502-520.

Dubois, B. and Paternault, C. (1995) Understanding the world of international luxury brands: the

dream formula. Journal of Advertising Research 35(4): 69-76.

Exane BNP Paribas (2014) “China reality check: luxury and the online boom”, available at:

https://www.exane.com/Link!docExternal.action?cmd=69723238263d6c3d26433d30346461373

56c316f3575723136206f3d343667266736736d303920 (accessed 8 September 2016).

Exane BNP Paribas (2015) “China online boom: no country for ostrich brands”, available at:

https://www.exane.com/Link!docExternal.action?cmd=69723334263d6c3d26433d30346461303

06c316f3575723136206f3d333067266736736d303920 (accessed 1 April 2018).

35
Euromonitor (2016) “Global luxury goods trend report”, available at:

http://www.euromonitor.com/global-luxury-goods-trends-report/report (accessed 1 April 2018).

Farooqi, A. (2018) “Top 10 luxury brands in China”, available at: https://www.l2inc.com/daily-

insights/top-10-luxury-brands-in-china-3, (accessed 1 August 2018).

Fournier, S. and Avery, J. (2011) The uninvited brand. Business Horizons 54(3): 193-207.

Hennigs, N., Wiedmann, K.P. and Klarmann, C. (2012) Luxury brands in the digital age -

exclusivity versus ubiquity. Marketing Review St. Gallen 29(1): 30-35.

Hennigs, N., Wiedmann, K.P. and Klarmann, C., and Behrens, S. (2015) The complexity of

value in the luxury industry. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 43(10-

11): 922 – 939.

Jin, S-A.A. (2012) The potential of social media for luxury brand management. Marketing

Intelligence & Planning 30(7): 687-699.

Kapferer, J.-N. (2015) The future of luxury: challenges and opportunities. Journal of Brand

Management 21(9): 716-726.

Kapferer, J.-N. and Bastien, V. (2009) The specificity of luxury management: turning marketing

upside down. Journal of Brand Management 16(5-6): 311-322.

Kapferer, J.-N. and Bastien, V. (2012) The luxury strategy: break the rules of marketing to build

luxury brands, Kogan Page, London

Kapferer, J.-N. and Valette-Florence, P. (2016) Beyond rarity: the paths of luxury desire. How

luxury brands grow yet remain desirable. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 25(2): 120-

133.

36
Kapferer, J.-N. and Valette-Florence, P. (2018) The impact of brand penetration and awareness

on luxury brand desirability: A cross country analysis of the relevance of the rarity principle.

Journal of Business Research 83: 38-50.

Kasabov, E. (2016) Unknown, surprising, and economically significant: The realities of

electronic word of mouth in Chinese social networking sites. Journal of Business Research 69(2):

642-652.

Kim, A.J. and Ko, E. (2012) Do social media marketing activities enhance customer equity? An

empirical study of luxury fashion brand. Journal of Business Research 65(10): 1480-1486.

King, N. (2012) Doing template analysis. In G. Symon and C. Cassell (eds.) Qualitative

Organizational Research, 426-450, London: Sage.

Kluge, P.N. and Fassnacht, M. (2015) Selling luxury goods online: effects of online accessibility

and price display. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 43(10-11): 1065-

1082.

Ko, E., Phau, I. and Aiello, G. (2016) Luxury brand strategies and customer experiences:

Contributions to theory and practice. Journal of Business Research 69: 5749-5752.

Ko, E., Costello, J.P. and Taylor, C.R. (2018) What is a luxury brand? A new definition and

review of the literature. Journal of Business Research

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.08.023

Lemon, K.N. and Verhoef, P.C. (2016) Understanding customer experience throughout the

customer journey. Journal of Marketing 80(6): 69-96

Liu, S., Perry, P., Moore, C. and Warnaby, G. (2016) The standardization-localization dilemma

of brand communications for luxury fashion retailers' internationalization into China. Journal of

Business Research 69(1): 357-364.

37
Long, D. (2017) “WeChat users pass 900 million as app becomes integral part of Chinese

lifestyle”, available at: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/11/15/wechat-users-pass-900-

million-app-becomes-integral-part-chinese-lifestyle (accessed 1 April 2018).

Mangold, W.G. and Faulds, D.J. (2009) Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion

mix. Business Horizons 52(4): 357-365.

Miles, M. and Huberman, A. (2002) The Qualitative Researcher’s Handbook, Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage.

Okonkwo, U. (2009) Sustaining the luxury brand on the Internet. Journal of Brand Management

16(5/6): 302-310.

Pine, B.J. and Gilmore, J.H. (1998) Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard Business

Review, July-August, 97-105.

Prahalad, C.K. and Ramaswamy, V. (2004) Co-creation experiences: the next practice in value

creation. Journal of Interactive Marketing 18(3): 5-14.

Quach, S. and Thaichon, P. (2017) From connoisseur luxury to mass luxury: Value co-creation

and co-destruction in the online environment. Journal of Business Research 81: 163-172.

Riot, E., Chamaret, C. and Rigaud, E. (2013) Murakami on the bag: Louis Vuitton’s

decommoditization strategy. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

41(11/12): 919-939.

Seringhaus, F.H.R. (2005) Selling luxury brands online. Journal of Internet Commerce 4(1): 1-25.

Seung-A, A.J. (2012) The potential of social media for luxury brand management. Marketing

Intelligence & Planning 30(7): 687-699.

Shukla, P. and Purani, K. (2011) Comparing the importance of luxury value perceptions in cross-

national contexts. Journal of Business Research 65(10): 14-17.

38
Stankeviciute, R. (2013) Elie Saab: strategic presence in the digital luxury space. In J Hoffmann

and I. Costa-Maniere (eds.) Global Luxury Trends, 242-258, London: Palgrave-Macmillan.

Tencent Pinguin Research (2016) “WeChat impact report 2016”, available at

https://walkthechat.com/wechat-impact-report-2016/ (accessed 1 April 2018).

Tynan, C., McKechnie, S. and Chhuon, C. (2010) Co-creating value for luxury brands. Journal of

Business Research 63(11): 1156-1163.

Yeoman, I. (2011) The changing behaviors of luxury consumption. Journal of Revenue and

Pricing Management 10: 47-50.

Zhan, L. and He, Y. (2012) Understanding luxury consumption in China: Consumer perceptions

of best-known brands. Journal of Business Research 65(10): 1452-1460.

Zhang, B. and Kim, J-H. (2013) Luxury fashion consumption in China: factors affecting attitude

and purchase intent. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20(1): 68-79.

Zheng, R. (2017) “WeChat is becoming a sales tool for luxury brand sales associates”,

https://jingdaily.com/wechat-tool-for-luxury-brand-sales-associates-to-sell/ (accessed 1 April

2018).

Zheng, R. (2018) “How luxury stores track staff selling on WeChat”, available at:

https://jingdaily.com/sales-staff-wechat/ (accessed 1 April 2018).

Zwass, V. (2010) Co-creation: toward a taxonomy and an integrated research perspective.

International Journal of Electronic Commerce 15(1): 11-48.

39