Z Generation Has An Impact On The Luxury Industry, And Luxury Goods Are Also Snatching Young People.

China has the world's youngest luxury consumer.

They are mature "digital aborigines". They grow up in the only child families. They can not get away from paying phone bills or buying luxuries.

This generation has brought unprecedented changes to the luxury industry.

This change can provide companies with many opportunities to enter the market from different angles.

For example, the luxury brand Grey created by two university students in Singapore, in order to attract the consumers of the technology generation, the brand CEO KevinWu brings forward the concept of luxury, launching the first luxury coin bitcoin purse (cooperating with Trezor, the hardware manufacturer of bitcoin wallet), which sells much higher than most of the luxury wallet that uses traditional banknotes - over $1000.

When most luxury brands compare with the experience of bitcoin almost zero, young companies like Grey dare to think differently in order to create new markets, and also achieve breakthroughs in the industry.

A similar trend of innovation is sweeping the sports shoes market.

The Venice Beach brand No.One, based in Losangeles, takes DNA as its skateboard, breaking the footwear market with the best quality leather and traditional clothing and shoe technology through customized sports shoes.

The company's online series has been sold out in a few minutes, attracting consumers from all over the world.

But this Z generation of sports shoe hype has just begun.

Look at the increasing brands of Off-White, Gucci, LouisVuitton/Balenciaga, even Aadidas and Nike. Their high-tech and high-end product lines also give us some insight into the future innovation of luxury footwear industry.

Take MaisonMargiela's dirt sports shoes as an example - this shoe expands most people's idea of luxury.

But when I showed to a Z generation friend who was addicted to sports shoes, she immediately responded that she felt cool.

The change in the taste of the Z generation has a fatal impact on the traditional luxury business.

In their eyes, the boring and arrogant luxury shop assistants are no longer valid.

The merchandise was hidden behind the glass counter, surrounded by salesmen who seemed to be very cold, so that the "Temple" shops were just daunting and without a sense of attraction.

On the contrary, the younger generation of consumers needs shopping experience more. They need a place that makes them feel comfortable, inspired and feel at home.

So you can buy ice cream at Kith luxury shoe store in New York, or listen to hip hop music in OpeningCeremony, two of which are loved by Z generation and subvert the brand of Luxury Retailing.

In theory, if consumers are more adaptable to digitalization, stores must put their experience ahead, or they will have no reason to exist.

Therefore, traditional luxury goods, high-end brands and lifestyle brands need to reconsider their strategies when creating consumer experiences.

Beware of poorly considered experiments, because failure marketing will only make consumers feel false and erode brand value.

Instead, companies need to make a rigorous assessment of brand positioning in the eyes of consumers.

This is not an easy task; even the leading brands, I find that they have much room for improvement.

In the recent visit to Adidas flagship store in Hongkong, I found that its traditional shop layout is not as modern as the new brand, but it is empty at peak hours, and the independent shops in many nearby Z times are crowded with shoppers, which clearly indicates that Adidas needs to take actions to improve shop conditions.

But these strategies are not limited to sportswear or shoe brands, but Mercedes, which is close to the Adidas store, has created a "MercedesMe" space.

Here, luxury car brands are using a lifestyle concept to establish links with young urban consumers.

Unlike traditional car dealers, it integrates the retail space of cafes, leisure restaurants, car showrooms and Mercedes brand accessories into an integrated shopping experience, but these sales scenarios do not echo each other well.

In stores, for example, the 250000 tone MercedesMaybach of two tones was crowded into a corner.

The color, materials and props of cafes and restaurants are mixed together, most of which are irrelevant to the Mercedes brand.

But the worst part of the accessories store is a cheap brand name chain and a plastic iPhone phone set of about $10.

I am very puzzled about what the Mercedes brand represents. Is it a proud luxury brand? A mediocre cafe or a cheap accessory shop? The brand's strategy in attracting the Z era is poorly executed, disappointing the young consumers, and not coming out of the other brands.

Another failed young marketing solution is the recently launched Louis Weedon earphone.

In my view, the implementation of this plan represents a common problem with luxury goods.

The price tag for headphones is 1000 US dollars, but technically and aesthetically speaking, it is exactly the same as headphones of ordinary earphone brands (except for the LV stickers on the top and the price of $1000), which is 700 dollars higher than the same brand. Louis Vuitton brand has no additional technology or anything else in terms of value.

Because of this, Google search shows that consumers regard this headset as a "hoax".

This is not surprising, because the youngest consumers on the Internet are the most picky.

Such behavior seems to be very thirsty, and at the same time, it weakens the credibility and fairness of the whole brand.

It is worth remembering that the expansion of incompatible brand types always weakens brand awareness. - consumers will never be neutral to products.

This is why they are so dangerous.

With this in mind, how can brands better impact on young consumers? They need to have a 100% definition of brand at rational and emotional level.

Brands need to first understand how they want to motivate consumers, and then they must be consistent at the executive level and follow these definitions.

Although it sounds easy, I see many brands struggling, especially when they sell to young and demanding luxury consumers in China.

Those brand managers who are not familiar with traditional brands and are not familiar with China often underestimate the maturity of consumers seriously. This provides a window of opportunity for new brands with genuine respect for Asian culture.

Luxury brands must establish real values in order to compete in the Z generation of consumers, rather than opportunistic.