In public comments, many people's first reaction is surprise-this brand that has been purchased countless times before has finally entered China. However, when people rushed into the store, they found that everything was completely different from what they imagined.
Although pink and black are used as the main colors, the overall store design does not give people a dazzling feeling, and even cheap film photo frames purchased from nearby IKEA are hung in an eye-catching position.
But the price of almost everything in the store is three to five times higher than that of the brand in North America. An underwear with a price of about $5 is priced at more than 2, RMB in this store, even a pair of underwear is in 48 yuan. "Compared with foreign prices, the words' how quickly people get stupid money' flashed in my mind!" One comment wrote like this.
even more ridiculous, Tammy Roberts Myers, a spokesperson for Limited Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret, said in an e-mail statement that the store in China was not officially authorized by the brand, and he repeatedly stressed that there are no officially authorized stores in China except Hong Kong.
But if you Google casually, you will see that in the past few years, Victoria's secret stores have opened in Yintai Plaza in Beijing, Shenzhen and even high-end shopping centers in Taiyuan, and some of them have been opened with the help of stars and models, and there have been many media reports.
These stores are all opened by a franchisee named Shanghai Maisi Investment Management Company, and the person in charge of Maisi Company told CBN Weekly that they are the general agents of Victoria's Secret in China.
Actually, the lawsuit between Victoria's Secret and Max has been going on for two years. This is a tortuous story of an international brand entering the China market.
The reason is that in 26, Victoria's Secret encountered operational difficulties, with a total inventory backlog of $15 million. In order to clean up this stock, they authorized AFB to sell in 9 countries, including China.
in 27, a boss with a background in hardware successfully obtained a batch of products worth $5 million from AFB in the name of Shanghai Jintian Clothing Company through personal relationship, which was also approved by Victoria's secret.
due to the lack of retail experience, Jintian initially sold the underwear to department stores in second-and third-tier cities, and soon failed to operate. It was not until 212 that the international brand was taken over by Max Company that it was able to re-open decent stores in high-end business districts in Shanghai and Beijing.
Max previously owned the agency rights of several overseas fashion brands including Ash in China. According to Ren Ningning, the marketing director of Maisi Company, the sales right contract signed by AFB and Jintian did not stipulate a specific time limit.
But this unauthorized act of opening a shop in a big way caught Victoria's secret attention, and the two sides started a lawsuit. According to the judgment made by the Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People's Court in April 213, Jintian was found to be unfair competition, but it did not constitute an infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark.
"We have bought so many goods, I can't think of any other way to sell them except to open a shop." Ren Ningning said. Max will sue Victoria's secret again in the near future to defend his rights.
"Dealers are divided into two situations: authorized or not. If you advertise yourself as a franchised dealer or general distributor without authorization, it is false propaganda, which is too common in China. However, it can also be seen that Victoria's secret management of channels has certain problems. " You Yunting, an intellectual property lawyer of Shanghai Dabang Law Firm, told CBN Weekly.
of course, ordinary consumers can't see the complicated ownership disputes behind a store. People just think it's "very different" from Victoria's secret.
In fact, from the moment Limited Brands signed the $5 million sales order with Jintian in 27, everything about Victoria's secret in China was out of the control of the US headquarters. For Victoria's secret, this is undoubtedly a major mistake in decision making.
the previous success of this brand is largely attributed to its unique marketing strategy.
since 2, Alexandre De Betak, a French designer who made fashion shows for Dior, Michael Kors and other luxury goods, has started to design a huge party-style fashion show for this underwear brand every year-there are both hot supermodels and the most popular singers of the year, which is comparable to a variety show with superstars.
Since 21, this annual big show has been broadcast live on American TV channel ABC, and now it has become one of the most watched programs in the United States.
This show not only won the popularity of many models, but also made Victoria's Secret a dreamy, fashionable and sexy iconic brand. As the brand described on its website, it provides a "sexy, connotative and forever young" lifestyle for women.
What is more attractive than fashion shows is its approachable price and frequent discounts. In terms of market positioning, Victoria's secret has always adhered to the middle-class female group.
There are many styles of underwear products, which are divided into nearly 1 series according to style and function, and the price ranges from $2 to $75.
In order to cultivate young consumers, it launched a cheaper and lovely PINK series for college girls, and even got a discount when you show your student ID card at checkout. If customers use exclusive membership cards, they can often get various discounts and gifts.
This product strategy has enabled Victoria's Secret to have thousands of stores in the North American market, which are located in various shopping centers. Whenever the Christmas discount season comes, many female customers in downtown streets will carry huge pink Victoria's secret shopping bags.
in 212, Victoria's secret sales exceeded $6 billion, and its operating profit reached $1 billion. On the basis of underwear, Victoria's Secret has now developed a series of derivatives such as makeup, skin care products, accessories and clothing.
However, the success of the North American market has always made this company uninterested in the international market.
at the board meeting in 2, its management announced that it would not go anywhere except the United States. It decided to open a store in Canada in 21, and then opened three direct stores in Britain. It was only two years later that it began to expand in other international markets by means of distributors.
but it decided to license underwear and derivative products to dealers completely separately. Except for the Middle East market, no dealer has obtained the authorization of underwear products at present. For example, Valiram Group, a luxury goods agent, can only sell cosmetics and accessories, as well as some discount underwear products in its stores in Malaysia and China.
This will inevitably disappoint consumers in Asia. After all, underwear is the core product of Victoria's secret. Khalid Rouissi, CEO of Valiram Group in Hong Kong and Macau, said in an interview in 213 that this was due to the size of underwear.
"China women and American women have different bodies, so it is probably not appropriate to directly sell underwear products from the American market in Asia." Rouissi said. However, people's enthusiasm for purchasing Victoria's secret on Taobao makes this reason seem far-fetched.
The company has obtained underwear products that are extremely scarce outside the North American market. They think that even if they are priced at will, people will be willing to buy them, and they don't need to spend too much time on store design and marketing. They opened their doors almost immediately, hoping to make profits as soon as possible by using this golden signboard.
In addition to Mira City, according to Ren Ningning, in 214, franchisees will open Victoria's secret stores in Chongqing, Changsha, Chengdu, Wuhan and Xiamen.
The biggest requirement of Max for franchisees in these regions is not its experience in fashion brand operation, but that it must be able to obtain shops of more than 3 square meters in the first-line business circle of the city, so many franchisees are from the real estate industry. In addition, in a certain area, they can also choose to set up stores anywhere.
this eventually leads to uneven experience of these franchised stores. In addition to the price completely beyond the reasonable range, due to the limitation of supply, stores in China can't get the latest and best products, and the display standards are not uniform.
Many franchisees even let models walk in underwear at auto shows and nightclubs under the banner of Victoria's Secret. By contrast, Victoria's secret shop opened by Valiram Group in Hong Kong is much better.
Like American stores, the designs of four stores in Hong Kong were all designed by designer Edwin Hofmann, and Victoria's secret and iconic giant angel wings were placed in each store. Five pairs of discount underwear at 298 yuan were very popular.
As Limited Brands Group gradually realized the importance of China market, they began to take remedial measures in recent two years. According to the spokesman, in addition to taking legal measures to solve the licensing problem, the company expects to open the first Victoria's Secret cosmetics and accessories store in mainland China through Valiram Group in 214.
Victoria's secret really needs to take action before more and more franchisees make the situation out of control, and re-repair its reputation and image in China. (Source: China Business News Weekly)