Mulberry has launched a flagship store on Tmall Luxury Pavilion, Alibaba Group’s dedicated platform for premium brands, the British luxury label announced on Wednesday.
Mulberry debuted a special-edition Year of the Pig capsule collection on the Pavilion, in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Pavilion shoppers were given a three-day head start over other sales channels in China to purchase the capsule items, which included new versions of its popular Amberley and Seaton bags in black and scarlet red, an important color at the New Year.
Both bags were paired with a silk scarf tied to the handle that was designed by artist Li Rui, who drew inspiration from landscapes seen in traditional Chinese artwork. The virtual store also features the U.K. brand’s trademark leather goods, footwear, luggage, accessories and jewelry. Its opening day drew in more than 100,000 users to the store, and accumulated over 300,000 store visitors within the first week, according to Tmall.
“Launching the Mulberry flagship on Tmall’s Luxury Pavilion is an important step in growing our Chinese customer base and further developing the brand in key international markets,” said Mulberry CEO Thierry Andretta.
Tmall is the fashion label’s newest digital sales channel in China. It also operates 114 brick-and-mortar stores worldwide.
“Chinese New Year has long been a key marketing time for luxury brands, important for them to build a closer emotional connection with Chinese consumers, ” said Lili Chen, general manager of Tmall Luxury Pavilion.
“This year, we have also seen many festive capsules celebrating the Year of the Pig, however Mulberry stands out especially for perfectly merging its unique design language with the work of a Chinese artist, making the bags much more likely to resonate with luxury consumers in China.”
Launched in 2017, Tmall Luxury Pavilion now offers more than 80 brands, including Valentino, Burberry, Versace, Ermenegildo Zegna, Stella McCartney, Tod’s, Moschino, Giuseppe Zanotti, MCM, La Mer, Maserati, Kering Group-owned Qeelin, LVMH-owned Guerlain, Givenchy, Tag Heuer and Zenith. Products range from apparel and beauty items to watches and luxury cars.
