Louis Vuitton is the top luxury brand in China according to the Gartner L2 Luxury China Index, which ranks digital IQ. Bulgari, Cartier, Gucci and Mont Blanc round out the top five luxury brands. Burberry is the only British brand to be ranked in the top 10, achieving a digital IQ of 121 for 9th place.
According to L2’s analysis, Chinese shoppers are still purchasing items such as high-end handbags and sneakers, despite the nation’s economic slowdown and uncertain trade war with the US. L2 states Traditional luxury brands have maintained growth by adapting to Gen Z trends like streetwear and sneakers while leveraging new breed of Chinese brand ambassadors — particularly young pop idols — to promote their products online.
The strongest digital performance comes from Louis Vuitton, who’s number one ranking and high online buzz in China over its streetwear products and announcement of Kris Wu as its global brand ambassador has brought it the highest digital IQ score. In 2017 Louis Vuitton launched it’s Chinese e-commerce channel and last year utilized the streetwear “drop” model with a WeChat pop-up shop Mini Program for popular sneakers designed by Virgil Abloh.
As the world’s top luxury brands embrace e-commerce in China, the battle is still on to become the dominant space where Chinese consumers shop online for high- end products.
