What happened
Earlier this month, luxury e-tailer Mytheresa unveiled its latest initiative: the "China Designer Program" featuring Xu Zhi, Jacques Wei, Susan Fang and Didu. This special project will see the brands release exclusive collections on the platform, earmarked for April 2023. Participants were selected by a panel that included Ye Mingzi, CEO of Guoye Culture, stylist and fashion blogger Fil Xiaobai, and Mytheresa’s vice president of womenswear and childrenswear, Tiffany Hsu. The German-headquarter company will also hold offline events in Paris and Shanghai as well as partner with the Chinese version of T magazine.
The Jing Take
The Munich-based Mytheresa set out its bid to win over the China market this year. In March, it quietly landed on e-commerce giant JD.com, offering almost 50 brands to online consumers. The appointment of Steven Xu as President of China and Asia Pacific followed in July, as well as the establishment of Mytheresa's office in Shanghai. Xu comes with experience as the former vice president of digital marketing and e-commerce APAC at Ralph Lauren.
The financial highlights for the first quarter (ending September 30) indicated “very good growth” in the mainland. This newest initiative speaks directly to the hearts and minds of young shoppers who in recent years have become the new driving force of luxury consumption. Their needs and attitudes are markedly different from previous generations and often satisfied by domestic companies' offerings.
And with Bain & Co’s recent report finding an even more pronounced tilt towards luxury spending in the country by 2040, these signs are not to be overlooked. In fact, Bain’s data found that Gen Z and Gen Alpha luxury spending there is expected to grow three times faster than other cohorts.
With that in mind, by foregrounding the talents of Susan Fang, Xu Zhi, and others, the retailer illustrates an intuitive understanding of where the Chinese market is heading. Even if the collections themselves pose a challenge for overseas fans to buy at home (they will still be shipped from Germany and require customs clearance), the halo effect of the program will generate should give Mytheresa a nice boost.
The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.