Asia's first flagship store and brand image send a signal of Swarovski's strategic adjustment, and the rise of family-owned operations and local brands may lead to the transformation of this century-old brand into a deep quagmire.
On December 22, SWAROVSKI's Asian flagship store opened, opening only to the inside on the same day and open to the public on the 23rd. The flagship store is Asia's first flagship store, located in Shanghai's Hong Kong Plaza North Tower, across the road from TIFFANY & Co.'s largest flagship store in Asia.
In addition to the highlight moment brought by the first flagship store in Asia, Swarovski has frequently moved in store image and brand operation, highlighting the positiveness of its strategic adjustment. However, the epidemic, the brand's family-run operation method and the growth of local brands have set obstacles to brand transformation.
This little swan is struggling to "support the edge".
Hand-to-hand combat with Tiffany, Asia's first flagship store opened
The flagship store chose the site of Shanghai Hong Kong Plaza, located in the Huaihai Middle Road business circle, according to the big data of Winshang, the business district belongs to the municipal mature business circle, the business circle has opened 15 shopping centers, the opened shopping center area of 533,400 square meters, per capita shopping center area of 1.4 square meters / person, nearly twice the average per capita shopping center area in first-tier cities in the country. (The per capita shopping center area in first-tier cities in China is 0.77m/person, and the data sample is 30,000 square meters or more shopping malls in the country, and the data collection time is until the end of September 2021.) ）
Dramatically, Swarovski, which occupies the second floor of the South Block, is across the road from TIFFANY & Co., Asia's largest flagship store on the second floor of the North Tower.
Tiffany's flagship store opened in December 2019, and on the basis of the new renovation, the Tiffany Blue Box Café, which appeared in the movie, was integrated into the second floor of the store, which is the "Tiffany Breakfast". This is the third Tiffany & Co. breakfast restaurant in the world after New York and Hong Kong, and the largest flagship store in Asia. Close-quarters hand-to-hand combat with Tiffany shows Swarovski's ambitions.
▲ Image source: TIFFANY & Co. official blog
Swarovski also took a lot of effort in the design of the flagship store. The flagship store spans one or two floors, with a total area of 650 square meters, with Wonderlab as the concept, the entire space is divided into candy colors such as sky blue, soft pink, bright yellow and green, and the door is furnished with huge soft powder, green and bright yellow devices. There is a green tree-like punch card device on the right side of the store, surrounded by mirrors inside, and white lights vertically to the ground are hung in front of the mirror, and the space can accommodate about 10 people.
From the perspective of space partitioning, different colors correspond to different themes of the flagship store. The overall ground floor is mainly divided into five spaces, distinguished by color. In the center is the pink space, named "Brilliant Space", which is the main space of the flagship store, with a cross-level carousel, and the carousel protrudes outward in an octagonal niche to display Swarovski's representative products for consumers to take photos and punch cards. In the atrium, there is a pink sofa for consumers entering the store to rest.
The pink space is flanked by green spaces called "Digital Immersion Houses", featuring classic octagonal niches and furnishings such as "Collection I".
Through the pink space, the yellow space is revealed, and Swarovski's co-branded products and other products are displayed, including jimmy CHOO sneakers, high heels, crystal-encrusted headphones, crystal-encrusted coats, and boots.
Explore inward along the yellow space, which is the "the lab" on the first floor, the style of the laboratory is white, and the porch at the junction of the yellow space and the laboratory is transparent, showing different feelings against the background of yellow, pink and green lights. The space tries to create an experimental style, with colorful crystal birds in glass cages, a wide variety of birds made of crystal displayed on the surrounding walls, and Swarovski's zodiac collection.
Back in the pink space of the atrium, along the pink steps, the overall space on the second floor is composed of pink and green, and the furnishings are more colorful. It is reported that the first flagship store in Asia has increased the private customization space, and on the product, the flagship store displays all the new product series including Stella, Millenia, Dulcis, etc., as well as the new series "Collection II" that has been unveiled at the Expo.
In the first feeling, the rich and strong color of the space has seized too much attention, and the product appears eclipsed under the strong space color, and there is a slight sense of buying back the pearl.
▲ Added dresser on the second floor
▲ Products displayed in octagonal niches
According to Giovanna Engelbert, Swarovski's new creative director, "Wonderlab is a concept where everything about Swarovski takes on a figurative expression that will continue to inspire us with new inspiration. Wonderlab is a creative lab that encompasses Vientiane and welcomes individual expressions and whimsy from around the globe. ”
In the official interpretation of the brand, white is the source of brilliant colors, blue pays tribute to founder Daniel Swarovski, green represents nature and sustainable development, pink represents gender neutral perspective diversity, and yellow represents the bright light that embraces the future.
Previously, Swarovski launched the "Instant Wonder" immersive shopping experience space in 27 cities around the world, Instant Wonder is the new brand visual image of Swarovski, and China's first Instant Wonder opened in Shanghai Shippo Vanke in May.
▲ Source: Swarovski Official Micro
On the opening night, the opening and lighting ceremony was held offline, and the online synchronous live broadcast was held, and Swarovski also invited spokesperson Tang Yan and brand close friend Li Wenhan to visit the cloud online to create momentum for the brand.
If Instant Wonder and Wonderlab are seen as the brand's most pioneering experiments, then its new Swarovski Crystal Studio concept store is an upgrade to the brand. In November 2019, Swarovski Crystal Studio's new concept stores entered Beijing and Shanghai, and there are currently 14 stores nationwide.
Swarovski now has a Wonder series store, a Swarovski Crystal Studio concept store and a original image store. According to Winshang Big Data, Swarovski has 249 stores in 24 cities and 50,000 square meters and above shopping malls across the country.
Strategic adjustment, increase the size of the Chinese market
Behind the store upgrade is the overall strategic adjustment of the brand. The brand said in the live broadcast that Swarovski is reinventing and upgrading under the leadership of the new creative director Giovanna Engelbert, and the first flagship store in Asia is an iconic event, and the brand will continue to increase its size in the Chinese market.
In 2020, Swarovski repositioned itself as "luxury at your fingertips", thus opening up a new adjustment.
At the beginning of 2021, Swarovski upgraded the brand LOGO, the new LOGO line is more concise, and a circle of octagonal borders is added to the periphery, and the orientation changes from left to right. Elements such as new logos and octagonal niches can be seen everywhere in the flagship store, and products inspired by the new logo have also been launched.
The first Expo 2020 can be seen as an important symbol of the brand to increase the Size of the Chinese market, and the second Swarovski Expo in 2021. At the same time, the joint name with the palace culture of the Forbidden City and the zodiac series of jewelry are clearly indicating the brand's pandering to the Chinese market.
▲ Swarovski joined hands with the Forbidden City Court Culture Ruyi Modeling Series and the China Exclusive LITTLE Series and CHINESE ZODIAC Series
The reasons for the strategic adjustment and the increase in the Chinese market can be traced from the development of its brand at this stage. According to media reports, from 2014 to 2016, Swarovski's revenue was 3.05 billion euros, 3.37 billion euros and 3.36 billion euros, respectively, with a slow growth trend.
In August 2020, it was reported that due to the impact of the epidemic and restructuring plans, Swarovski expected full-year sales of its core crystal business to fall by more than 33% to 2 billion euros, and was expected to increase by 4% to 5%. In order to better cope with the difficulties, the family behind Swarovski may go public or seek strategic partners in the short term.
In addition to the pressure brought by revenue, its family management has also dragged down the "Little Swan" transformation.
New Creative Director Giovanna Engelbert, who took office in May 2020, reported that she will oversee the company's overall creative approach and reformulate the product portfolio across departments. The aforementioned "Collection I" and "Collection II" series were written by Giovanna Engelbert.
Following the introduction of a new creative director, the brand will also introduce member management outside the family for the first time in early 2022.
According to media reports, Swarovski is one of the few family-owned businesses that still operates in a limited partnership, and is now run by the fifth generation of the family, with CEO Robert Buchbauer as the grandchild of the founder and Chief Financial Officer Mathias Margreiter as an internal member of the family. The company also plans to introduce 2 to 3 members of the family's external independent directors to the board of directors and bundle the family interests with the newly established family holding company.
Throughout the history of luxury brand development, reducing the management of family members and introducing professional managers are regarded as an important part of brand commercialization. The 126-year-old Swarovski is at this stage.
The impact of the epidemic on brands is difficult to assess. The combination of multiple factors accelerates the adjustment of the brand.
Transform and increase the Chinese market,
How far can Swarovski go?
Pandora, which is often compared, poses no threat to Swarovski, but from the rising brand of indigenous original designer accessories.
HEFANG, OOAK, Cough in Vain, Soft Mountains and other brands are from online and offline to suppress the traditional brands of the same price segment, this group of local designer accessories brands in the brand story, brand tonality, product design, marketing means, into the shopping mall grade, and strive to compete with light luxury jewelry brands, in the entry of the place to establish a "high-end" impression in the minds of consumers.
Moving from affordability to "luxury at your fingertips", Swarovski's consumer perception will take time to change.
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Author | Yu Jinping Photo | The brand's official channels and win-business network
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