Hermès Has Joined Alibaba’s Tmall, Quietly
LONDON — Another victory for Jack Ma and Alibaba’s ambition to conquer the world of luxury: Hermès quietly launched its official store on Tmall over the weekend.
The store is stocked with perfumes, shampoos, body lotions, soaps and gift boxes, with prices ranging from 250 renminbi, or $38, for a bar of Terre d’Hermès soap to 3,490 renminbi, or $538, for a bottle Hermessence Ambre Narguile Eau de toilette.
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According to promotional information below product descriptions, the store will be officially launched on Jan. 22, and during the first week of the grand opening, anyone who purchases a bottle of perfume will be given a complimentary perfume sample.
Hermès said it has nothing to share regarding its Tmall store at the moment, but it appears that the store was registered on March 30, 2020, which means entering China’s largest online luxury marketplace has been in its sights for some time.
In China, the brand operates e-commerce business with its official website, and a WeChat mini-program store, offering a full range of products including ready-to-wear, silk scarfs, small leather goods, fashion jewelry, shoes, watches, homeware, furniture, and a limited selection of handbags, compared with its offerings in other markets, such as the U.S., Europe and Japan.
The Tmall shop is set up for selling perfumes only. It remains unclear whether the brand has plans to expand its offerings to other categories on Tmall.
The Parisian brand had an eventful 2020 in China. It made headlines in April 2020 for hauling in $2.7 million on the reopening day of its flagship store in Guangzhou’s Taikoo Hui, while the rest of the world was under lockdowns.
In July, it created another viral moment because of the hit TV drama “Nothing but Thirty,” which accurately depicts the Chinese Tai-tai style.
In the show, the main character, played by Yao Tong, carried a Chanel limited-edition 2.55 flap bag from 2017 to a social gathering, where the rest of the wealthy housewives came with Hermès Birkin or Kelly bags. Later she found out she got cropped from the group pictures that those housewives posted on WeChat Moments, as she was seen inferior to the Hermès carrying breed.
Related:
Hermès Hauled in $2.7 Million in One China Store on Saturday: Sources
Hermès Is Having Another Viral Moment With This Chinese TV Drama
Hermès Is HavDecoding the Chinese Tai-tai Style
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