China Experts Say Retail-tainment, Key Opinion Sales and a Focus on Culture Are Winning Strategies
LONDON — Out of adversity comes opportunity.
As major luxury players tighten their belts, the Chinese contemporary market is finding ways to prosper in a difficult market.
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They’re grabbing prime retail spots left vacant by underperforming luxury brands, harnessing the power of Chinese social media, and building engaging local communities.
They’re also using China’s sophisticated livestream industry and logistics systems to sell to consumers on the hunt for quality, competitively priced fashion.
Choose a Clear Narrative
According to Elisa Harca, chief executive officer and cofounder of marketing agency Red Ant Asia, brands that are likely to succeed in China today will possess “a clear and compelling” value proposition.
“It’s about offering true value, from quality to storytelling to brand values. Given the overwhelming choices available, brands must establish a strong identity to stand out. The ones who aren’t truly interesting and aren’t really committed to understanding the Chinese consumer culture and embracing its nuances won’t last very long,” said Harca, whose agency looks after brands such as Byredo, Creed, Charlotte Tilbury and Balmain for the China region.
A one-size-fits-all approach no longer works for China.
Harca said that one of her company’s clients, American Vintage, has partnered with Zeying, which is led by seasoned retail expert Haiqing Wang. The partnership led American Vintage to open eight stores in key cities in 2024. The store count is set to double by the end of 2025.
According to Harca, American Vintage stands out for its competitive pricing and its offline-first model in China’s e-commerce-driven retail landscape.
Prior to the mainland China expansion, American Vintage started in Hong Kong via a partnership with the Rue Madame Group, a contemporary fashion retail operator founded by Ariane Zagury.
Harca’s other brands have pursued different avenues to growth.
Alexandra Spencer and Teale Talbot’s cult dress brand Réalisation Par, first used Xiaohongshu (known as Red Note outside of China), to capture the attention of overseas Chinese consumers before opening online flagships on Tmall and Xiaoshonghu.
Harca said the brand now focuses on dressing girls in China in order to build a stronger bond with the country.
Harca believes that presence on Xiaohongshu is fundamental. It connects with the global Chinese consumer, and fills a space left open by TikTok, the future of which is uncertain.
The Rise of Key Opinion Sales
Xiaohongshu also recently launched Little Red Star initiatives, which links data from Xiaohongshu to Tmall. Brands can gain deeper insights into campaign performance, enabling them to fine-tune their strategies for measurable sales growth.
The tool also dovetails with the emergence of “key opinion sales” across social commerce platforms.
One glance at Xiaohongshu and it becomes clear that brands including Bottega Veneta, Burberry and Bulgari are encouraging sales associates to create their own communities. They’re turning everyday staff into trusted influencers, driving personal engagement — and boosting sales.
Pooky Lee, fashion curator and codirector of creative marketing agency Poptag, sees great potential in both. His agency specializes in helping brands like Prada, Miu Miu, Max Mara and Rimowa to brainstorm and execute China-focused campaigns.
“Key opinion sales is a hot topic in China at the moment, and many brands are leveraging the influence of their content for customer acquisitions on social platforms. Little Red Star provides a solid way to track this part of the business,” said Lee, adding that brands increasingly favor user-generated original content, instead of assets from headquarters.
Retail-tainment and Community Building
Connie Lee, CEO and chief marketing officer of Chelsey House, a brand and retail management platform looking after Zimmermann, Mackage, R13 and Sporty & Rich in China, believes China remains one of the most exciting markets for building a brand.
She added that to compete, offering a great product is not enough.
“It’s about creating a brand that resonates deeply with its audience. Chinese consumers are dynamic and aspirational, and they are drawn to brands that reflect their lifestyle and offer emotional value. To stand out, brands must create seamless, personalized experiences that feel intentional and are consistently executed across every touchpoint. When a brand fosters a sense of belonging and builds a genuine community, consumers don’t just notice the brand; they want to be part of it,” Lee said.
She pointed to retail-tainment, which ranges from fashion shows to celebrity Q&As to interactive product showcases during livestreaming, as a key means of creating experiences and connections for consumers to feel engaged and valued.
While China represents a monumental opportunity, Lee also agreed with Harca that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.
“Success lies in a culturally aware strategy that balances local insights with a global vision. In 2025, adaptability will be more critical than ever. Brands must stay agile, quickly responding to the evolving market landscape, macro-policies and shifting consumer needs,” she said.
Lee added: “In today’s challenging retail environment, a carefully managed offline distribution strategy — focused on key destinations and in-store experiences — paired with an omnichannel approach, offers sustainable growth.”
Coco Yu, cofounder of the Shanghai- and London-based communication agency Arc, whose clients include Lululemon and Penhaligon’s, cautioned that newcomers should not be in a rush to establish a presence across every possible channel in China.
“Start small and stay focused, conduct precise explorations. Once you’ve identified the right target audience and their profile, you can scale with confidence. At the same time, brands need to genuinely understand their customers. It’s about adding emotional value that resonates deeply. Of course, genius-level creativity always stands out — it’s timeless and irreplaceable,” Yu added.
Cultural Appreciation
Louis Liu, cofounder and creative director of the Shenzhen- and New York-based creative agency Sixsix Studio, whose clients include Nars, said the collaboration between Lancôme and artist Cai Guo-Qiang for the Year of the Snake was a great example of “genius-level” creativity.
“He created a gunpowder painting for the brand called ‘Paris Rose.’ What’s brilliant about it is that it’s painted by cAI, a custom-built AI model. It learns from Cai’s artistic oeuvre, extensive writings, archival materials and documentation. To me, this collaboration is not only a commercialization attempt for the buzzy artificial intelligence boom, but also an in-depth exploration of Chinese culture and art,” Liu said.
A seasoned marketing executive, Liu believes that on a macro-level brands need to adopt a Chinese, core brand narrative to succeed in the long run.
Top-performing fashion brands are usually experts in the field.
Loewe, for example, has worked on several high-profile projects involving Chinese traditional arts and crafts. Last year the brand hosted a master jade carvers’ pendant series. This year it paid homage to the ancient craft of Chinese cloisonné to mark the Year of the Snake.
The cloisonné technique, which began in the Yuan Dynasty more than 600 years ago, uses ultra-fine bent wires to create designs on a metal base, which is then filled with colored enamel, fired, polished and gilded.
The brand partnered with master Xiong Songtao, a Chinese arts and crafts master and the youngest of six living masters of Chinese cloisonné, for a set of necklaces with cloisonné pendants featuring the auspicious snake, monkey and cloud motifs.
Burberry, which is in the thick of a promising turnaround plan, also jumped on the traditional craft bandwagon for its Chinese New Year campaign.
Burberry dressed brand ambassador Zhang Jingyi, models Zhang Lina and Alex Schlab in red and tweaked its “B” logo to create a small snake. The brand also teamed with one of China‘s most celebrated bamboo-weaving artists, Qian Lihuai, to create nine bamboo art sculptures, as well as a series of screen savers.
So far, it’s been a hit with online spectators in China.
“These projects embody a deep understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture, history, tradition and consumer psychology. They represent the best scenarios — aligning the brand’s global core values with local cultural innovation to create a distinctive, creative expression that resonates with the modern Chinese consumer. While these projects target a specific holiday moment, the cultural impact they generate is timeless and unmeasurable,” he said.
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