Q&a / How JD.com sold Western luxury brands to China’s Gen Z: think AR, VR content and exclusive tie-ups with Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Berluti, Guerlain and Sephora

Sep 5 , 2021

Kevin Jiang, president of International fashion and lifestyle at JD.com, talks about the digital marketplace, the rise of Gen Z as consumers and the company’s partnerships with global luxury brands like LVMH. Photo: Handout

A landmark collaboration with French luxury leviathan LVMH sees JD hosting an innovative program to deliver the brand’s exclusive shopping experience to netizens

JD Luxury Express provides a white-glove delivery service for the high-end watches and jewellery that self-gifting consumers covet to showcase their personality

Kevin Jiang, president of China’s e-commerce giant JD.com, talks to STYLE about the country’s digitisation of shopping for luxury products and on forging a relationship with LVMH.

How has JD Luxury performed before and during the pandemic?

While the pandemic has hit the global luxury market hard, China is actually seeing rapid growth. In the meantime, we also see trends that luxury consumers are becoming younger, buying more full-price products and sales are gradually reaching the lower-tier markets. During JD’s “618 Grand Promotion”, Gen Z customers buying luxury products increased 231 per cent year-on-year.

JD Luxury Express now offers a white-glove delivery service. Photo: JD.com

The pandemic has revealed just how important e-commerce is to the future of luxury goods. When many stores were forced to close, brands have to transform and focus on digital sales – and often relied on more established platforms like JD.com to reach digital customers, especially in lower-tier cities and in the absence of international travel and shopping.

This year, luxury giant LVMH has inked a series of partnerships with JD for iconic brands including Givenchy, Berluti, Guerlain, Sephora and Zenith, with more on the horizon.

A Dior men’s shoe, now available on JD.com. Photo: Handout

What drove LVMH and JD.com to form a partnership?