It is not said that breaking through China is a prerogative of fashion giants. Here is how Senreve, a small US brand of leather goods with production and materials, both made in Italy, including leather, did it. Not just quality, aesthetics, transparency and price. Senreve studied the People’s Republic for two years, before approaching it with a precise strategy. And if the Chinese market previously accounted for 10 to 20% of sales in Asia, now it has come to generate half of it. The brand also raised 16.75 million dollars in funding, bringing its capital to over 23 million dollars in just three years.
The small US brand
“China is a completely different market than any other, and it is very complex,” Sherry Ho, head of Asia for Senreve, told Jing Daily. The US brand identified the customer target and then studied how to reach it. In this specific case, Senerve began to be present on Little Red Book social commerce platform, to use WeChat mini program, and then invested in Tmall marketplace. 90% of Chinese sales now come from here. “Tmall offers a lot of analysis, and it’s interesting to see people’s browsing,” said Ho, who pointed out how having an official Tmall showcase offers more credibility to the market.
The expansion plan
Then came the physical presence in some large shopping centres. A presence that Senreve develops through pop-up shops, useful for the brand to collect feedback from customers and better adapt to market preferences. But not only. In its pop-ups, Senreve often hosts workshops for customers and this helps growing their community and increase their involvement. China is now the brand’s “fastest growing market” which, to meet growing local demand, has decided to shift logistics operations and move its storefront from Tmall Global to Tmall China.
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