Balenciaga Blow-Out?: Paris Brand Tempts China Market with WeChat Flash Sale

Yesterday, the Parisian fashion house Balenciaga debuted a single limited-edition item – a pink monogram Logo Ville bag via the company’s WeChat mini-program – in somewhat mysterious fashion. The initial post on Balenciaga’s official account utilized a simple, yet edgy style – it was a single image on a solid background announcing the item linked to the mini-program e-commerce channel. The post did not mention price or how many were available or how long the flash sale would last, forcing users to find out the details. The only information available within the mini-program was the size of the bag and the price, about 2,037 (RMB 13,800). While most luxury brands are busy posting WeChat campaigns to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, Balenciaga’s lack of information about the flash sale, frankly, stood out. Within one day, the original post has garnered 22,000 page views and 67 recommendations. The flash sale marketing technique on WeChat was used by the British brand Burberry last year as a way to introduce their new streetwear identity and connect with young Chinese consumers. As a result, the brand received positive engagement and sales -- nearly half of the items were sold out by the end of the 24-hour event. As Balenciaga is clearly following Burberry's example, the question is: how successful will the sales strategy be? What’s clear is that Balenciaga has been on Chinese consumers’ radar thanks to multiple controversial events last year, from shifting part of its signature Triple S sneaker production to China to alleged discrimination against Chinese consumers at its Paris store. Unfortunately, the exclusive launch didn’t seem to excite all Chinese consumers, many of whom still find it necessary to remind the public about the discrimination episode last April. The most-liked comment (out of only 30 as of 3 p.m. on Thursday) on the company’s Weibo post, published around the same time as the WeChat campaign, was: “Damp;G exemplified racist attitude towards Chinese. Balenciaga, where is your apology? It’s been a year, get out of China!” Meanwhile, another user defended the brand: “They have apologized, don’t you see?” in reference to the company’s apology in May. So far, the company hasn’t disclosed whether the new flash sale campaign was successful.

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Balenciaga Blow-Out?: Paris Brand Tempts China Market with WeChat Flash Sale