In recent years, there are more and more successful cases of overseas luxury brands operating in China market, and they have made a lot of money in China market. Luxury brands have successfully used various public relations means to make various unique performances in the market, which makes China consumers unable to open their wallets and spend impulsively. What are the public relations methods behind the marketing of these overseas luxury brands in China? We need to uncover them one by one.
In Louis Vuitton stores in Paris or Hong Kong, even if it is not a holiday, there are often long queues. After waiting for half an hour or more to enter the store, as ordinary customers, they must do their own shopping: without warm greetings and smiles, the role of the clerk is mainly to ask about the price of the product. Nevertheless, when you finally decide to pay for a product, the clerk may only tell you coldly that it is out of stock or you can only buy one. This practice, which was criticized as "not treating customers as customers", did not stop people from flocking.
On March 16, the LV flagship store with four floors and an area of 1749 square meters officially opened in Hong Kong. Its scale is second only to the head office in Paris, France. Price is not the main factor-the price of ——LV in Paris is lower than that in Hong Kong, and the price in Hong Kong is lower than that in the Mainland. It is said that LV's branch in Shanghai opened only one year, and its sales performance jumped to the top of the brand's global stores. Therefore, although Hong Kong has always been the most important market for LV in Asia, there are 12 stores in the mainland, and in 2004, four branches were opened at one go.
From the psychological point of view, let customers bear a strong sense of pain in the process of waiting and buying, and the pleasure and memory generated when owning the product will be the strongest. The sense of exclusivity conveyed to customers is one of the most important needs of luxury target customers and the main value of the brand. In addition, LV has done an excellent job in creating the impression of luxury goods and high-end products. The decoration, visual impact and product honor inside and outside the store are in line with expectations and echo the brand value.
In 2004, LVMH Group's profit exceeded 65.438+0 billion euros for the first time, and LV contributed a lot, accounting for 2/3, accounting for about 654.38+0/4 of the Group's total sales in that year. The reason why big brands become big brands lies in the "tricks" behind them.
Luxury brand collectivization leads brands to drive sales.
At present, most luxury brands are run by a group that operates multiple brands. LVMH Group has more than 50 brands in five major fields. There is no doubt that Lu can be called the "cash cow" of the group. From manufacturing to publicity, such a "cash cow" often has the most sufficient funds and spare no effort to invest, and the big boss often plays the role of public relations himself. The Group uses the income of "cash cow" to support other brands that are losing money but are enough to enhance the identity of the Group or potential "cash cow".
According to product breakdown, almost 100% of LV's profit comes from leather goods, of which traditional Monogram handbags account for half of the sales. Let's take a look at Gucci Group, which is also called "Double Peaks and Double Streams" with LVMH Group. Similarly, compared with 2004, sales of Gucci brand accounted for 58%-60% of the whole group, and profits accounted for 140%- 146% of the whole group. Among them, the income of handbags and shoes is as high as 80% in Gucci brand.
Even Chanel, which operates independently, the industry estimates that the sales of cosmetics and perfumes account for half of its income, mainly from the No.5 perfume, which has been sitting firmly in the top three in the world; The sales volume of leather bags accounts for about 30%, the most prominent of which is Chanel classic diamond leather handbag with gold chain.
Indeed, in the same brand, a cosmetic is only a few hundred yuan, a handbag is usually several thousand yuan, and an evening dress is tens of thousands of yuan, while the frequency and scope of use of cosmetics and handbags are much higher than that of evening wear. Complete product distribution is also beneficial for consumers to complete every step of "consumption upgrade" within the same brand. People with a monthly income of more than 5,000 yuan, aged between 25 and 40, who are keen on fashion will fall in love with these entry-level luxury goods at first. With the growth of age, the increase of income and the maturity of luxury consumption psychology, they will gradually turn to more expensive intermediate luxury goods. It is generally believed that intermediate luxury goods are the main force in the luxury goods market, and their consumers are also the main force in luxury goods consumption (see Business Weekly Dream in Cartier China No.3, 2008).
Furthermore, the luxury brand's "small with big" is also manifested in the display of goods: around an expensive handbag, there are many handbags with similar appearance, slightly smaller volume, slightly poor workmanship but relatively cheap price; When you are aroused to buy, but you are wandering because of the price factor, there are cheaper wallets and accessories in the counter next to the handbag area calling to you: "Take me away quickly, you can complete a close contact with luxury culture at such a small price!"
Flagship stores are becoming more and more turbulent.
Although he has been dead for many years, the residence of Gabrielle Chanel, the founder of Chanel, has remained the same. The house designed by Gabrielle Chanel has become a private museum. Some important customers and media of Chanel will be invited to visit here. Not only Chanel, but also every luxury brand headquarters will have such a museum. When guests are in it, the ubiquitous history and culture in the museum is enough to make them completely lost. Of course, what follows is the inner impulse to have it.
Exquisite and extraordinary production technology is also a highlight of luxury brands. Hermes classic birkin bag, the starting price is more than 50,000 yuan, and the most expensive one is more than 300,000 yuan, which is dubbed by netizens as "holding an Audi in his hand". But Hermes tells you it's worth it, because every stitch and thread of Birkin is sewn by hand; The "saddle needle" used for sewing leather bags comes from the technology of sewing luxurious saddles for the royal family 100 years ago, which is by no means easy for others to master and is also the most cherished "intellectual property" of the company; Take Birkin made of crocodile skin as an example. The standard material selection method of this handbag with a basic cost of more than 6,543,800 yuan is to select the softest and smoothest part from more than 200 crocodile skins for making. Moreover, if you are lucky enough to be on the reservation list, customers will get the goods in less than half a year or three to five years, although a skilled worker can make a Birkin in 18 hours.
Therefore, Birkin has been at the top of the list of "popular purchases" in Yi Bei for many years. Not only is it a second-hand best seller, but it can also recover all the "investment" after selling it, so that the screenwriter of Sex and the City expressed the enduring voice of the majority of female compatriots through the mouth of Samantha in the play: "The day I have Birkin is the moment when I really get ahead."
In addition, the design and location of the store is also the most obvious means to defend the status of luxury brands. 15 years ago, luxury brands began to expand from multi-brand third-party retail stores such as department stores to their own stores. In addition to building striking buildings for stores, they also follow the operating principle of department stores: the longer you leave potential customers in the store, the more likely they are to spend money there.
As one of Gucci's biggest investments in retail stores, Gucci's flagship store in Ginza business district in Tokyo is decorated with gorgeous mahogany and cave stones, including three handbag departments, two jewelry departments, men's and women's clothing departments, a coffee shop offering Gucci chocolate, an art gallery and an activity hall. The whole store adopts a "vertical structure": coffee shops and long corridors are placed in high places to encourage customers to go up through the store. In order to create a high-end feeling, Gucci put the high-end leather bag next to the store door, while the lower-priced canvas bag was placed on the second floor. Customers can use coin trays, shoehorns and handbag poles when shopping. When displaying handbags, raw leather mats will be spread out, and in the dressing room, long skirts decorated with Gucci letters will be provided. The purchase behavior is called "sales ceremony" here.
According to industry insiders, there are a series of hard indicators for the location of luxury brands, including the unified level of brands around the store, the periphery of top hotels, and convenient and sufficient parking spaces adjacent to high-end restaurants.
Shops are so important to brands. Here, we want to propose a special "big brand" port. Although Ports was founded by Canadian Luke Tanabe in 196 1, it was bought by Hong Kong people after Tanabe retired in 1989, and China was quietly used as a manufacturing and retail base in 1993. However, in the reader survey conducted by AC Nielsen for World Fashion Garden magazine, Ports ranks first among the international fashion brands that readers want to buy in the next 12 months, followed by Chanel and Gucci.
Experts believe that Ports has a preconceived advantage in the luxury clothing market in China. Ports's advertising budget is only 5%, and most of the publicity focuses on the choice of retail store address, with the notable feature of arousing people's inner memory of the brand. Today, Ports has more than 370 stores around the world, 305 of which are located in China. These stores are located in crowded places and should be close to institutions that generate opinions and impressions, such as schools.
"Many times, we open a shop and young girls pass by. They may not be old enough to buy our products. They go to school every day and pass by our beautiful window. Every day, they hope to buy something from this store one day ... when people don't have much money, they will only buy one or two brands of products. If you want to be one of them, you'd better be a part of their life. " Chen Qitai, CEO of Ports, said: "There is no doubt that when they need their first interview dress, even when they have gained a firm foothold in their career, it will become their first choice clothing brand. For a woman in China, buying a wedding dress is her first chance to spend a lot of money on clothes. This is their brand. "
(Qi Mu)