Chanel joins Xiaohongshu. Is it too late?

What happened On May 30, French luxury house Chanel officially joined Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), China’s premier lifestyle recommendation platform with over 300 million monthly active users. The brand’s debut post featured a cinematic video spotlighting its 2024/25 Métiers d’Art show in Hangzhou and star ambassador Liu Wen. At the time of writing, the Chanel Fashion account has just under 3,000 followers, and the post has garnered over 2,800 likes and saves combined. While Chanel Beauty has maintained a presence on Xiaohongshu for several years, with more than 240,000 followers, this marks the fashion division’s first foray on the platform. The move arrives amid increasing pressure for global luxury brands to adapt to China’s digitally fragmented, fast-moving social media ecosystem, where younger consumers expect immersive, native storytelling. The launch also coincides with internal restructuring at Chanel in China. The company reported a 7.1% YoY revenue drop in Asia last year and is undergoing an organizational reshuffle in the region, including reported layoffs. While the brand maintains a good reputation among China’s affluent consumers, a younger cohort is increasingly drawn to emerging, interactive platforms over traditional luxury communication channels. As of publishing, Chanel had not responded to Jing Daily’s request for comment. The Jing Take Chanel’s arrival on Xiaohongshu marks a notable shift in strategy for one of the last remaining holdouts from China’s “super app” era. The brand has traditionally been cautious in its digital footprint, preferring curated, tightly controlled campaigns over mass-platform engagement. But in 2024 and 2025, that model has shown its limitations — particularly in China, where luxury discovery and purchase journeys are now fluid, nonlinear, and increasingly platform-agnostic. China’s new commerce reality Xiaohongshu, known for its powerful “grass-planting” (种草) culture — the term that refers to planting the seed of desire in consumers’ minds through peer-to-peer recommendations — has become a cornerstone of consumer decision-making in China. It is not just a place to search for beauty routines or travel guides; for many, it’s the starting point of their shopping journey. And now, that journey can end there, too. Earlier this month, Jing Daily confirmed with JD.com that Xiaohongshu has formed a strategic e-commerce partnership with the platform. An official announcement is expected soon. The partnership would allow brands to insert direct shopping links within Xiaohongshu posts, enabling users to browse products and complete purchases without leaving the app. A similar deal, dubbed the “Red Cat Plan,” was launched with Alibaba’s Tmall and Taobao on May 7. This presents a golden opportunity for luxury brands. They can now create smoother journeys from desire to purchase, engaging consumers on Xiaohongshu with localized, peer-informed content, then converting that interest through the proven logistics and checkout systems of JD or Tmall. In China’s current economic climate, where consumer confidence remains fragile, reducing friction along the path to purchase is critical. What’s really at stake? Chanel’s move comes at a crucial juncture for the maison. Its decision to launch with a high-gloss Métiers d’Art campaign aligns with its house identity: refined, exclusive, cinematic. But to succeed on Xiaohongshu, the brand will need to diversify its content approach. The platform rewards relatability and authenticity, think beauty routines, OOTDs, “unboxing” videos, formats that Chanel has historically shied away from. Adapting to this tone, without diluting brand equity, will be key to sustaining traction. More broadly, the shift underscores a major trend in China’s digital economy: collaboration over competition. As platforms face user saturation and macroeconomic headwinds, alliances between content and commerce are emerging as a way forward. Xiaohongshu isn’t trying to be Tmall or JD; instead, it’s positioning itself as the top funnel, where lifestyle aspiration begins, and linking directly to those better equipped to close the sale. That means global luxury players’ digital strategies in China must evolve. Gone are the days of platform exclusivity and linear campaigns. Today’s winning formula is a cross-platform, full-funnel ecosystem, one that bridges inspiration, consideration, and conversion without forcing the consumer to ever leave the platform that first captured their attention. 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.

Chanel joins Xiaohongshu. Is it too late?

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Published June 03, 2025

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Chanel joins Xiaohongshu. Is it too late?