Alexandre Arnault’s Rimowa Takes on China with a Mix of Heritage and Hip
Jing Daily spoke with Rimowa CEO Alexandre Arnault about what’s next for the brand, including Rimowa’s retail plan for China and much more.
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- How does Rimowa balance their core business with new collaborations that help create excitement?
- Rimowa’s collaborations with Supreme and Off-White were beloved by younger consumers in China, but how can you expand your business to also reach “mature” consumers?
- Your Fendi x Rimowa collaboration was a big hit in China because of social media campaigns like the one you did on WeChat, but do you think there’s a risk of overexposure when employing social media channels?
- China is a country that has seen a huge surge in tourism activities, and luxury travel bags are in high demand. But there’s also competition from less pricey direct-to-consumer luggage startups like Away
- and Roam
- . What’s your strategy to pull ahead of competitors?
- In 2016, the court in Zhongshan, China acknowledged that the “groove design” was a unique feature of the Rimowa suitcase and therefore falls under protection from counterfeiters. Yet despite its protectable status, new companies constantly infringe on the design law and produce copycats. How do you combat the online purchase of counterfeit products?
- You said that you’d like Rimowa to be a “culturally relevant brand in the space of travel, hopefully not only selling suitcases but other travel-related products." What other products and services have you envisioned for Rimowa?
- What are your plans for China in the near future?
- Is Rimowa doing any Chinese-specific products?
- Is the heritage of Rimowa important to Chinese consumers?
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