Under the new leadership of creative director Hedi Slimane, the French luxury brand Celine is slowly rolling out its digital strategy for China. After opening a WeChat account roughly two years ago, the brand finally launched its first-ever WeChat Mini Program on July 8.
But unlike other luxury brands that utilize a WeChat Mini Program for hosting flash sales or managing customer relationship, Celine’s approach is to make it a mini website for Chinese consumers to better understand the brand’s history, Slimane's new design philosophy, and Celine's latest collections.
The new WeChat Mini Program is divided into three parts: “About Celine,” “New Collection,” and “Store Nearby.” In the first section, Celine presents its 74-year-old history, Hedi Slimane’s biography and two recent interviews with Figaro and Vanity Fair, plus, some audio and visual assets. Readers can browse through Celine’s latest collections from runway to celebrity looks in the second part. In addition, viewers are invited to discover the brand’s flagship stores in Paris, Tokyo, New York, and Milan. Lastly, the program enables consumers to make digital appointments to visit offline stores.
Launched by Tencent in January 2017, WeChat Mini Program has now become a must-have for luxury brands doing business in China due to its varied capabilities and massive user base. According to Gartner L2, a research and intelligence company, roughly 70 percent of fashion brands in China have at least one Mini Program nowadays. As a luxury latecomer to digital technologies, it's necessary for Celine to play catch-up to ensure its offerings match what digital-savvy consumers in China demand.