Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba has revealed a new luxury platform which will aid high-end fashion brands in selling excess inventory which has built up during the lockdowns caused due to coronavirus.
Dubbed ‘Luxury Soho’, the platform targets young consumers and will run alongside its Tmall Luxury Pavilion flagship site.
The global COVID-19 pandemic forced worldwide shutdowns, further impacting supply chains and warehousing across the world. This has led to mountainous amounts of unsold goods piling up amongst retailers and brands.
As China signals a bounce back from the pandemic, Chinese consumers gradually emerge as positive shoppers impacting recovery of Chinese sales.
Keeping the same in mind, Tmall’s platform will allow brands to operate their own online stores with full control over pricing, product selection and brand strategy.
“Brands are now sitting on a worldwide abundance of stock and are also needing to find ways to reach new consumers,” Christina Fontana, Head of Tmall Fashion and Luxury in Europe, revealed in comments posted on Alibaba’s website.
Luxury Pavilion would continue to offer the brands’ latest collections along with exclusive offers, all the while focusing on a more affluent clientele, whilst Soho would provide “luxury deals, older collections, timeless classics and vintage collectibles”.
The platform would allow brands to reach China’s Gen Z shoppers and also consumers belonging to lower-tier cities.
