Innovation Starts in China Before Expanding West: Zegna ...

Zegna's history in the China market started as early as 1991, as it was the first luxury apparel brand to enter the middle kingdom. Now, China ... CEOsInnovationStartsinChinaBeforeExpandingWest:ZegnaCEORuonanZhengOctober31,2018Photo:PatrickMacLeod/WWDForItalianbrandErmenegildoZegna,thefocusisoninnovationsinChina,itsCEOGildoZegnahintedattheWWDApparelandRetailCEOSummityesterday.Zegna’shistoryintheChinamarketstartedasearlyas1991,asitwasthefirstluxuryapparelbrandtoenterthemiddlekingdom.Now,ChinahasbecometheleadingmarketbyrevenueforZegnaandisseenasatestinggroundforitstechstrategies.“WetestnewthingsinChinafirst.Ifitworks,webringittotheworld,”Zegnasaid.ThishastodowiththeconsumercultureinChina–consumersaremobile-oriented,andasthetypicalluxuryshoppersareyoungerthanothermarkets,theyarecuriousaboutinnovationandareearlyadoptersofchangeswithinthebrand.Likemanyotherluxurybrands,ZegnahasundergoneaseriesofdigitalrevolutionsinChinatomakeasmanyastouchpointsaspossibletoconnectwiththeconsumers–fromestablishingaWeChatpresencetoformingstrategicpartnershipswithAlibabaandJD.com.KoreanSingerSehuninacampaignforanewZegnamillennial-focusedlineXXXCouture.Photo:Zegna/WeiboHowever,theCEOremainsfirminthestrategyofapproachingdigitalasaservicetoolthatrevolvesaroundthecompany’scoreDNA.Besidesdigitalinnovation,thebrandhasalsolaunchedaproductlineformillennialscalledXXXCoutureandhasimplementedspecialmarketingcampaignsspecificallyforChina.Itintroducedtwo“LittleFreshMeat”stars,actorWilliamChanandsingerSehun,tobethefacesofthelineandhostedabiginteractivethree-dayeventinSeptember,atwhich500fanscouldgetafirstglimpseofanexclusiveChinacapsulecollectionandconnecttheirWeChatIDstointeractwiththebrand.Thiscollectionwasalsolaunchedatavirtualpop-upstoreonJD.com’sTopLifeinOctober.RecommendedReadingHowZegnaCaterstoToday’sNovelty-obsessedChineseConsumersByYilingPanUnlikeotherbigluxuryhouses,Zegna’sin-housemanufacturingenablesthebrandtoactivelyreacttomarketchangesquickly.TheCEOreferredtothecompany’sstreamlinedproductionprocessas“fromsheeptoshop,fromshoptoscreen.”Thisprocesshasenabledthebrandtoapproachcollectionsnotbyseasonbutonaprojectbasis,ortoreleasecapsulecollectionsatahigherfrequency.Fueledbytheathleisuretrend,thetraditionalsuitmakerhasalsostartedtoexplorethepotentialofactivewearinChinaandSouthKorea,andhasaspecialteamworkingonluxurysneakerdesigns;asthegrowthofstreetwearconsumptioninChinasurpassesotherfashionindustries,theincreasingexposuretourbanclothingwillmakeconsumersopentotheoptionofinvestinginapairofhigher-pricedsneakers.RecommendedReadingUpscalingofSneakerBrandsThreatensLuxuryFashionByRuonanZhengHowever,allitsfocusonChinadoesn’tmeanthebrandisChina-proofconsideringthecurrentsocio-economiclandscape.ThebrandisreportedlyapproachingChinamorecautiouslyandisplanningamoreconservativebudgetforinvestmentinthecountrynextyear,asthetradewarwiththeU.S.islikelytocontinuetoimpactconsumption,accordingtoarecentinterviewwithBloomberg.Infact,thebrandhasseenslowingdemandfromChinaduetothetradewarwiththeUS.Ontheotherhand,theyuan’sdepreciationhassentmoreshoppingtraffictothedomesticmarketthanabroad,whichhasbenefitedthebrand’s50storesacrossChina.AsmuchasitssalesrelyonChina,sodoesitsstrategy,“ItusedtobeWestinfluencesEast;nowit’sEasttoWest,”theCEOsaid.CategoriesCEOs,ConsumerInsights,MarketAnalysisTagsalibaba,athleisure,chinesemillennials,ermenegildozegna,luxuryproduction,toplife,tradewar,wechatStaysmartwithourdailyChinabriefGetinsights,analysis,andbreakingnewsfromouron-the-groundreporters.JingDailyKraneSharesChinaGlobalLuxuryIndexTracktheglobalmarketperformanceoftheluxurysectorinChina.Withcurrentnewsupdates,shareprices,andstockmarketdatabasedonChineseconsumerinterest,thisindexmonitorstheoverallhealthwithinthemarket.DailyReturns:07/01/2022IndexLevelDailyChange%Change226.46-$0.74-0.33%ViewIndexMarkItDownYoursourceforwebinarstopodcaststoglobalindustryevents.OurEventCalendarhasyoucovered.ViewMoreEventsTrendingOnJingOurmostpopulararticlesyoumayhavemissedFashionBlackpink’sLisaandCelineStoleParisFashionWeekMen’sMarketingAfterKrisWu,LouisVuittonPicksNewChinaAmbassadorsTheFutureofLuxuryTheNewGameofLuxury:GenZinChinaTechHowLuxuryCanBenefitFromTencentandAlibaba’sThawingRelationsInfluencersWhereDoesChina’sContinuedBanon‘Sissy’MenLeaveLuxury?BeautyWhatisNewOrientalAndCanItCrackChina’sBeautyLivestreamIndustry?StayontopofmarketinsightsfromChinathatmatterSubscribetoournewsletterforalookaheadtowhatdrivestheworld’sbiggestculturalconsumers.RelatedArticlesIndustryProfilesDanielArsham’sNewBrandIsMadeforChina’sHypebeastsCEOsHowGLOSKUFuelsColourpop’sChinaExpansionIndustryProfilesMeetJeffStaple,China’sFavoriteStreetwearCollaboratorCEOsPomellatoCEOSabinaBellionChina’sGenZOpportunityForHardLuxuryBrandsNewsFinancialReportingMarketAnalysisConsumerInsightsIndustryProfilesChinaLuxuryIndexReportsEventsAboutUsAboutJobsTeamInthePressWriteforUsContactUsAdvertiseFollowJingDailyFacebookTwitterLinkedInPinterestInstagramRSSJingDailyonWeChatYourChinaCheatSheetSignupforourdailynewslettertounpackthebusinessofluxuryinChina.Gaininsights,analysis,andbreakingnewsfromouron-the-groundreporters.CloseWeusecookiesonourwebsitetogiveyouthemostrelevantexperiencebyrememberingyourpreferencesandrepeatvisits.Byclicking“Accept”,youconsenttotheuseofALLthecookies.CookiesettingsACCEPTPrivacy&CookiesPolicyClosePrivacyOverviewThiswebsiteusescookiestoimproveyourexperiencewhileyounavigatethroughthewebsite.Outofthesecookies,thecookiesthatarecategorizedasnecessaryarestoredonyourbrowserastheyareessentialfortheworkingofbasicfunctionalitiesofthewebsite.Wealsousethird-partycookiesthathelpusanalyzeandunderstandhowyouusethiswebsite.Thesecookieswillbestoredinyourbrowseronlywithyourconsent.Youalsohavetheoptiontoopt-outofthesecookies.Butoptingoutofsomeofthesecookiesmayhaveaneffectonyourbrowsingexperience.NecessaryNecessaryAlwaysEnabledNecessarycookiesareabsolutelyessentialforthewebsitetofunctionproperly.Thiscategoryonlyincludescookiesthatensuresbasicfunctionalitiesandsecurityfeaturesofthewebsite.Thesecookiesdonotstoreanypersonalinformation.Non-necessaryNon-necessaryAnycookiesthatmaynotbeparticularlynecessaryforthewebsitetofunctionandisusedspecificallytocollectuserpersonaldataviaanalytics,ads,otherembeddedcontentsaretermedasnon-necessarycookies.Itismandatorytoprocureuserconsentpriortorunningthesecookiesonyourwebsite.StartYourDaywiththeJingDailyNewsletter