Produced by Tiger Sniff Commercial Consumer Group.
Written by Qi Minqian.
Edit |Miao Zhengqing.
Header |Visual China.
On the streets of Beijing at minus 10 degrees, the moment the scarf fell to the ground, Yu Hao, a post-95 girl, was even a little happy. My friend finally saw the little logo that was wrapped, and said to her half-jokingly: "Yo, you have more than 6,000 scarves." Hearing this, Yu Hao was secretly happy in his heart and returned: "You finally saw my scarf." ”
The scarf that Yu Hao cares about so much is a graffiti model of Loewe (hereinafter referred to as Loewe). Starting in 2023, Yu Hao has been frequently "planted" the products of this brand, first fell in love with a bag carried by a stranger in the elevator, and recently became obsessed with a blue sweater on Yang Mi's upper body recommended by Douyin.
Yu Hao has always been a loyal consumer of luxury goods, but when it comes to choosing luxury goods, she prefers brands with smaller logos that are not easily recognizable at a glance. "On the one hand, I want to be precise and low-key vanity, and on the other hand, I don't want to hit the shirt. She said bluntly.
Yu Hao has the typicality of young consumers of Generation Z, urban white-collar workers, and many current luxury consumers: gradually abandoning those big brands with big logos and high public recognition, and advocating "de-logo" and niche brands.
The subtle changes in consumer psychology and the slightly cold global consumption environment in the "post-epidemic" era have made the luxury industry, which has an "anti-cyclical" attribute, also usher in a great change.
From the perspective of the industry as a whole, although luxury goods have recovered from the epidemic in the past two years, they have been sluggish again since Q3 2023. Bain & Company expects the global personal luxury goods market to be weak in 2024, with year-on-year growth remaining at a low-to-mid-single-digit level.
As the "important town" of global luxury fashion, the development of China's luxury industry is basically the same as that of the global market. According to the data of the VIP Research Institute, China's luxury consumption will increase by 9 percentage points year-on-year in 2023, returning to the level of 2019, reaching 1,042 billion yuan.
VIP Research Institute.
Although the overall scale is still growing, there are more brands that are not easy to sell, and the differentiation between major luxury goods is also intensifying, and a new round of reshuffle is quietly coming. Bruno, senior global partner at Bain & Company, said that 65%-70% of luxury brands will achieve positive growth in 2023, compared with 95% in 2022.
Under the turmoil, some brands that have been in the limelight for many years have been overshadowed, and some relatively niche brands have taken advantage of the situation to come to the forefront, such as Loewe. In 2023, Loewe's logo was voted the most recognizable brand logo of the year by LYST.
Increase the size of the Chinese market, which became popular after the epidemic.
Before the epidemic, Loewe was far from being as popular as in the past two years, and many people's impression of Loewe may be stuck in: how to read "loewe"? Zhou Ting, president of the VIP Research Institute, told Tiger Sniff that Loewe is a brand that has developed rapidly after the epidemic.
This almost 200-year-old Spanish luxury brand was founded in 1846 as a cooperative by several Spanish leather artisans. In 1996, LVMH completed the acquisition of Loewe, bringing it under its umbrella. Like many luxury goods, Loewe has a comprehensive product line, ranging from ready-to-wear and shoes to bags to fragrances and homewares. **On the list, Loewe is a relatively second-tier luxury, taking the more classic puzzle bag as an example, the basic price is 2Within 50,000 yuan.
The list of the hottest brands and single products released by LYST every quarter records Loewe's road to popularity. From Q3 2022 to Q3 2023, Loewe's ranking has risen from 14th to 2nd. Among them, in Q2 2023, Loewe also topped the hottest luxury brand of the season by LYST.
The popular items that have taken Loewe all the way out of the circle are: bomber jacket (ranked 7th on the LYST list in Q4 2022), Anagram vest (ranked 2nd on the LYST list in Q2 2023) and puzzle handbag (ranked 7th in the LYST list in Q3 2023), etc.
Specific to the Chinese market, judging from Loewe's public actions, this brand is also increasing its channels and brand voice construction, trying to occupy more market share.
In terms of channels, almost all luxury goods are focusing on the DTC channel, and Loewe is no exception. Up to now, Loewe has opened 32 stores in 17 cities in China (statistics from Loewe's official channels), including Kunming, Xiamen and other second-tier cities. According to local friends in Chengdu, Loewe's third store in Chengdu is currently in preparation. An important background of the frequent opening of offline stores for luxury goods is that in the past many years, a considerable part of China's luxury consumption has occurred abroad, and in recent years, the consumption of luxury goods in China has increased.
At the same time, Loewe is also focusing on e-commerce and new traffic channels. Taking the Chinese market as an example, on the e-commerce side, in addition to various e-commerce platforms, Loewe also focuses on Chinese official websites, WeChat online boutiques, etc.
In new traffic channels such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, Loewe's style of play is very different from other big names. Judging from the content it released, in 2021, the brand will begin to focus on Douyin and Xiaohongshu channels. On Douyin, in addition to the catwalk, Loewe will also focus on sharing the links of product production, highlighting the brand positioning of "handicraft". On the one hand, such content can strengthen the brand image of "handicraft", and on the other hand, it is also in line with the popular content direction of Douyin, which has similarities with "repairing donkey hooves" and DIY handicrafts.
Another key move by Loewe is its emphasis on the "localisation" of the Chinese market: from the spokesperson to the product range.
At the brand marketing level, Loewe is trying to attract Chinese consumers with high-traffic stars and Chinese culture. In September 2023, Loewe officially announced that Yang Mi would become a global brand spokesperson; During this year's Spring Festival, when other luxury goods were using the "dragon element" in the Chinese market, Loewe chose "Jade Culture" for the marketing of the New Year's collection.
The popularity of the brand and products has brought Loewe an increase in performance. In 2021 and 2022, Loewe achieved revenue of 4600 million euros and 6300 million euros, corresponding to growth rates of 38% and 37%, respectively. In 2022, Loewe's net profit is close to 1300 million yuan, an increase of 87% year-on-year.
Sitting on Loewe, the popular brand of the year, LVMH Group's performance in 2023 is also relatively good. In fiscal 2023, LVMH achieved revenue of 861500 million euros, up 9 percentage points year-on-year. In terms of business segments, Loewe's fashion leather goods (including: LV, Dior, Celine, Fendi, Loro Piana, etc.) is the largest business unit of LVMH, and in 2023, the fashion leather goods business increased by 9% year-on-year, and the growth rate decreased by 14 percentage points compared with 2022.
Whether it is the fashion and leather goods division or the entire LVMH Group, although the overall performance growth rate in 2023 is not as high as in previous years, in the entire luxury industry, such a revenue growth rate is estimated to be the envy of some peers.
Taking Kering Group (which owns brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga) as an example, in the first three quarters of 2023, the company's revenue fell by 3 percentage points, of which the revenue of the core brand Gucci fell by 7 percentage points. In addition to Kering, Burberry has also lowered its profit forecast for fiscal year 2024 (ending March 2024).
Tiger Sniff Note: Kering's 2023 data is its performance in the first three quarters.
In the capital market, LVMH's performance is also better than some of its peers, which is indispensable for Loewe's help to LVMH. In the second half of 2023, several major European luxury groups began to receive a cold reception. In the six months to Jan. 29, Burberry, Kering, LVMH, Richemont and Hermès fell respectively. 13% and 228%。
"Conservative style" in the cost-effective consumption.
In 2023, when the industry environment is uncertain, Loewe can become popular, not only thanks to the deliberate rejuvenation change in recent years, but also related to the "conservative" atmosphere of the fashion industry and the gradual increase in consumer attention to cost performance.
From Loewe's own point of view, this brand emphasizes "handicraft", and leather and craftsmanship have always been more recognized by consumers, but the style is relatively conservative. After being acquired by LVMH, Loewe was in a tepid state for a long time, and was even ridiculed as "a brand that parents only buy".
Loewe's gradual popularity is inseparable from the rejuvenation of the brand, and this process is inseparable from the help of "super individuals".
In 2013, new creative director Jonathan Anderson joined and has been working on innovative and youthful products, which has attracted a group of young fans and pulled Loewe out of the "brand aging" crisis. Anderson's first hit was the Puzzle bag, launched in 2014, and it's still a Loewe classic.
Source: Visual China.
In addition to the creative director, the "super individuals" who push Loewe to the fire are also celebrities and Internet celebrities who lead the fashion trends of ordinary people. In the United States, Rihanna, who will perform on stage at the 2023 Super Bowl, is wearing a custom Loewe model; In my country, Yang Mi, the new global spokesperson, has also helped Loewe's business a lot. "Someone will come to the store with Yang Mi's upper body picture to look for goods, and her fans will post receipts for purchasing products under her endorsement. A Loewe staff member said.
Of course, compared with the "first-class" influence brought by super individuals, for brands, a more subtle and profound and lasting power comes from the changes in fashion trends.
According to Qiangua data research, the four major fashion trends on the Xiaohongshu platform in 2023 are: urbancore (urban outdoor style), clean fit (clean fit), dopamine dressing and intellectual style. Looking at these fashion trends, there are actually only two core cores, one is to provide emotional value like dopamine dressing, and the other is practical enough and cost-effective.
On the whole, the whole fashion trend in the past two years has tended to be conservative, emphasizing practicality. An analyst who has been tracking the footwear and apparel industry for a long time told Tiger Sniff. Behind this, a very important reason is that a considerable number of consumers have become more rational and pay more attention to cost performance, which not only means that they pay more attention to the best, but also means that they will prefer to choose more classic styles in the consumption process, rather than blindly pursuing fashion.
The focus on cost-effectiveness has also occurred among the affluent VIC group. "The trend of consumption upgrading has always existed among this part of consumers. However, the overwhelming lifestyle education has made these consumers more and more rational, and their desire to pay a premium for brands will be reduced, and they will pay more attention to the cost-effectiveness of products and services, as well as personalization. Zhou Ting said.
As consumers pay more and more attention to personalization and cost-effectiveness, brands that have excessive marketing and high market visibility will face challenges because they lose their sense of mystery. In this case, luxury brands generally choose to increase prices. "On the one hand, price increases can compete for the status of the top brands, and on the other hand, they can also identify and retain high-end customers, and control the visibility and mystery of the brand. Zhou Ting explained.
However, price increases, like "high market visibility", are double-edged swords for luxury goods, and it is easy to cause the loss of some consumers. For the traditional luxury goods in the middle belt, the danger of the two is even higher. The reason is that these brands are in a very awkward "middle ground", their brand influence is not as good as that of the absolute head brands, and their products are not as cost-effective as high-end niche brands.
As a result, the differentiation and reshuffle of the luxury industry followed: some luxury brands with excessive marketing and low cost performance began to gradually lose market share; At the same time, the highest-end "top luxury brands", more cost-effective and niche brands, as well as some customized brands, have taken advantage of the trend to become popular.
Loewe, as well as Miumiu, which has been popular in the past two years (revenue growth rates in 2022 and the first three quarters of 2023 are 245% and 49%), in fact, they all belong to the brand that has become popular in the industry reshuffle, relying on "niche" or product power improvement.
Conclusion: It's easy to turn red, but it's hard to get red.
In the long run, Loewe will face many challenges if it wants to maintain its popularity for the past two years.
First of all, as more people begin to pay attention to Loewe, the key foundation of its popularity, "niche", is changing. Taking Douyin as an example, some creators who shared Loewe-related content many times in the first half of 2023 have set their sights on some more niche brands since the second half of 2023.
Cost-effectiveness is another challenge. On social platforms, "Loewe Ping" has become a new hot topic, and even some local cost-effective brands have begun to rub the concept of "Loewe Ping" to attract traffic to their products. The emergence of flat products will not only make some consumers re-examine the cost performance of luxury goods, but also likely to affect the brand image in the long run.
Fashion is always a cycle.
When a niche brand relies on the "niche" label to start a big fire and gradually climbs to the apex of the cycle, it may be difficult to escape the fate of "bad street".
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