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Predestined to be fuelling the industry’s major growth for years to come, China, along with the other BRIC markets, represents a strategic opportunity for luxury watch brands. If significant signs of recovery in sales have been announced by most of the industry’s leaders, it is largely due to the demand increase for Swiss watchmaking in these regions. They have become true ‘Eldorados’, not only for Swiss watchmakers, but for the luxury industry in general.

China represents the pillar of the current growth of the industry, with performance numbers that easily surpass those of the other emerging markets. This market is currently the third largest consumer of luxury goods, and will rank first by 2015.

 
China is currently the third largest consumer of luxury goods, and will rank first by 2015. Picture: People are crowed in the shopping mall to buy presents on Christmas Eve. (Photo/CFP)

Deciphering local preferences

Due to the vast expanse of the country and the multicultural diversity in the fast-growing affluent regions, it is difficult to draw up a standard profile of the typical Chinese consumer with regard to luxury goods demand, even though, “they need these goods to represent their own purchasing power and to taste psychological satisfaction” according to David Chang, Founder of the Research Office for Haute Horlogerie and China and WorldWatchReport Invited Contributor.

According to the online findings revealed in the past two years in the WorldWatchReport, the Chinese consumer is for the most part brand-name focused. He/she is influenced by the high-profile ambassadors who promote the brands, preferring those who personify excellence in competition in the world of sports. In addition, they are drawn to strength of character, as demonstrated even through fictional characters, such as James Bond. International cinema and television stars are emulated by the Chinese consumer, whether they are current or classic, male or female.

 
China is the leading market in terms of search volume for the BRIC markets. Omega and Rolex are much more searched for than any other brand, with a slight advance for Omega in China. High Range brands Longines and Rado perform especially well in China – © IC-Agency, WorldWatchReport 2010

Online brand building in China

China’s strategic importance has pushed Internet growth at the expense of print media. If brands would traditionally invest in magazines, they cannot replicate this recipe in China where the magazine market is constantly evolving and erodes any coherent or lasting image. While the Internet is considered the primary factor influencing purchasing, boutiques are considered to be in second position and magazines only in seventh (BCG Asia). Nevertheless, David Chang stresses that “the print Media’s advertisement is still a very important method to target Chinese Luxury goods consumers. But, with the development of the Chinese market, the online share will be more important. More people, including younger consumers, want to access watch knowledge rapidly, and the Internet is the most convenient way” .

In regards to the search for information, Baidu is the uncontested search engine leader with nearly two thirds of the search market share in China, far ahead of Google which seems unsuccessful in imposing its leadership in the Middle Kingdom. When deciphering the local clientele search behavior, it remains mostly brand-oriented due to the challenge for brands to translate and adapt their product ranges and campaign messages to the local languages and preferences. “China’s market is not very mature, many brands entered this market late and they have not yet been recognized. People mainly want to know about the different brands, their history and positioning. Moreover, many model names are not translated into Chinese, so it is not convenient for online searching. Though people know some names through watch advertisements, a limited amount of people recognize model names,” points out David Chang.

 
Example of a luxury brand visibility on Baidu – Cartier

When looking at watch aficionados’ online conversations, the Chinese clientele has no reason to be jealous of western watch platforms. Hundreds of thousands of watch enthusiasts participate actively in online forums dedicated to the art of fine watchmaking, such as Iwatch365.net, Watchbus.com or Watchstore.com.cn where page view statistics can range from one to three million per month. Besides discussions about world famous brands, style and technology of watches, a significant portion of some forums are dedicated to watch sales transaction, where people set up their shop page and sell watches online.

Daily online conversations about high-end watch brands take place on local forums – Picture: iWatch365.net, gathering 450’000 watch aficionados in China

One of the key challenge for Swiss watch brands wanting to succeed in China will be to define the right online positioning which emotionally connects to China’s affluent clientele. While mapping its online media consumption would be the first step, mastering language specificities, clientele preferences as well as defining the appropriate engagement drivers are crucial success factors for luxury watch brands in China.

Source: Europa Star Dec. 2010 /Jan. 2011 Magazine Issue

Le web a influencé jusqu’aux fondements de la communication et de la vente de produits exclusifs. Revue en chiffres des changements les plus radicaux.

5%

Soit la part des ventes réalisées en ligne pour l’ensemble de l’industrie du luxe. Ce canal additionnel aux réseaux de vente traditionnels génère déjà quelque 8 milliards d’euros, tout secteur confondu. Vu sous un angle numérique, le luxe est le secteur de l’économie qui a connu la plus forte croissance en 2010 (source: Bain & Co). Si pour Cartier, l’e-commerce ne représente «rien du tout» selon son CEO Bernard Fornas (Le Monde du 30.11.2010) – pour Burberry, les ventes en lignes ont augmenté de 50% au premier semestre fiscal. Pour rappel, la marque anglo-saxonne a réuni sur Internet plus de 650’000 personnes lors du streaming du lancement de sa récente collection (source: Internet Retailer).

Les ventes en ligne de Burberry ont augmenté de 50% au premier semestre fiscal. ©www.burberry.com

500 millions

Soit le nombre d’inscrits à Facebook dans le monde, dont 70% en dehors des Etats-Unis. La moitié des utilisateurs s’y connecte chaque jour, et parmi eux 200 millions via un téléphone mobile. Les membres y passent en moyenne 15 minutes par jour selon les dirigeants du site. Un changement de paradigme dans la consommation du média Internet, qui provoque un raz-de-marée au sein de l’industrie du luxe – entre marques «avant-gardistes» ou qualifiées de trop exclusive pour s’y abaisser, le «Social Media» reste le thème le plus animé du moment auprès des marques.

400 millions

Soit la quantité d’internautes en Chine – premier pays en termes de nombre d’internautes – dont 210 millions de blogs, 175 millions inscrits à des réseaux sociaux locaux comme RenRen au Kaixin et 110 millions de membres participatifs à des forums de discussion (source: CNNIC). Un pays dont les usages en ligne peuvent être différents comparés aux pays plus matures en termes d’expérience du web. Près de 98% des inscrits aux forums chinois y passent en moyenne 1 heure par jour et sont des contributeurs actifs. A noter que des forums dédiés aux marques de haute horlogerie existent déjà. Certains regroupent plusieurs centaines de milliers de membres, à l’instar d’Iwatch365.

400 millions d’internautes chinois… DR

850’000

Soit la taille de la communauté de Fans sur Facebook inscrits aux pages – officielles ou non – de 25 marques horlogères de luxe. Soit 85% d’augmentation en à peine 6 mois depuis BaselWorld. Parmi celles qui y gèrent désormais une Page officielle, Hublot reste tenante du titre de la marque la plus populaire sur Facebook avec plus de 200’000 Fans (Source: WorldWatchReport, IC-Agency).

La page d’Hublot sur Facebook. DR

23%

C’est la part de marché de Google en Chine, qui peine à asseoir son hégémonie dans l’Empire du Milieu. Le renforcement de sa présence en ligne dans le pays passe nécessairement par l’intégration de Baidu dans sa stratégie de communication digitale – Baidu est le leader incontestable des moteurs de recherche locaux avec 73% de part de marché du pays. Une domination qui s’effectue au dépens des internautes chinois à la recherche d’informations sur l’étranger et qui voudraient pouvoir se tourner davantage sur Google, conscients du contrôle étatique effectué par les autorités chinoises sur le contenu indexé par Baidu (Source: BusinessWeek.)

Article publié sur WORLDTEMPUS le 2 décembre 2010
Florent Bondoux, IC-Agency, et Louis Nardin, WorldTempus