In “Headlines from China,” we share the biggest news stories about the luxury industry in China that have yet to make it into the English language. In this week’s edition, we discuss:
- Lanvin Broadcasts Paris Show in VR with Chinese Partner Iqiyi
- Prada Quietly Launches on Tmall Amid Virus Impact
- Shiseido Asks 8,000 Japanese Employees To Work From Home
Lanvin Broadcasts Paris Show in VR with Chinese Partner Iqiyi — Forbes China
Lanvin, one of the oldest French fashion houses, has revamped itself at Paris Fashion Week with emerging technology. The brand’s Fall/Winter 2020 runway show was broadcast on Wednesday using virtual reality technology to Chinese audiences with the help of the video platform iQiyi. In addition, the show was also livestreamed on the luxury e-commerce platform Secoo, and hosted by a Paris-based Chinese influencer who provided live commentary.

Prada, which has been slow-moving with e-commerce compared with other brands, recently joined Tmall with 75 products. Photo: Screenshot
Prada Quietly Launches on Tmall Amid Virus Impact — Winshang.com
As luxury stores in China continued to be shuttered due to the Covid-19 crisis, it has become ever more important for brands to reach customers online. The Chinese industry publication Winshang found that Prada, which has been slow-moving with e-commerce compared with other brands, recently joined Tmall with 75 products. Prior to joining the Alibaba-owned Tmall, Prada inked deals with e-commerce platforms Secco and JD.com in the second half of 2019. Tmall is the third official e-commerce partner for Prada in China.

With the rising number of infected cases, Japanese companies such as Shiseido are taking their own precautions as government rules failed to give specifics. Photo: Shutterstock
Shiseido Asks 8,000 Japanese Employees To Work From Home — Nikkei Chinese
The Japanese cosmetics group Shiseido asked about 8,000 local employees, excluding their factory employees, to work from home until March 6, or until the Covid-19 virus concerns in the country ease. As the public health fear incited by the docking of the Diamond Princess cruise in Yokohama, a city south of Tokyo, keeps rising (Japan currently has 912 confirmed cases as of February 27, 705 of which are from the cruise ship), Japanese companies are taking their own precautions as government rules failed to give specifics, Nikkei wrote.