The Minefield, Which Was Buried Many Years Ago, Finally Exploded In Series.

Luxury brands rarely occupy many locations in yesterday's micro-blog hot search list, but this is not the exposure they want. After the Versace brand was suspected to have listed Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan as a "state", Yang Mi quickly apologized with her designer and Donatella Versace. The aftermath has not subsided. Coach, Givenchy, Asics and other brands have been picked up by netizens to make the same mistake that touches the bottom line of China.

Yesterday morning, the Coach of the US luxury group Tapestry group was accused of a Disney cooperation T-shirt suspected to list Taiwan and Hongkong as a separate country. At the end of July, the supermodel Liu Wen, who just announced that it became the brand spokesperson, immediately issued a statement and its termination. Coach then issued an apology statement on its official micro-blog, Instagram and other social media platforms, and said that the product was full shelves. Liu Wen stopped working with Coach, and micro-blog read more than 200 million, with more than 39 thousand discussions. Star Guan Xiaotong and Ren Jialun, who had worked with brands, also issued a statement calling for ending cooperation with brands.

After the same incident, the Givenchy make-up spokesperson and his studio also issued a statement saying that the partnership with the brand was terminated. Subsequently, the Givenchy brand also issued an official statement on several social media platforms, saying it would correct the mistake in the T-shirt as soon as possible, clearly strengthen the territorial sovereignty of China, support the correct position of the Chinese artists, and respect their personal decisions.

Givenchy's brand spokesperson said in an exclusive response to BoF that the T-shirt is the first series of products designed by the brand creative director Clare Waight Keller in 2017. "We noticed that there was a mistake in the list of countries. We realized that it was very sensitive and removed it from the retail market in the next quarter. But now, two years later, the T-shirt reappears, because some retailers are still selling over the season inventory. I want to make it clear that this is not the product launched in the season. We have stopped the production and sales activities. We are very aware that this is a sensitive issue, "the spokesman said.

The statement of Givenchy also exposes a "thunder spot" beyond the control of luxury brands, which is sold in wholesale form to buyer stores: Farfetch, Matchesfashion and other electronic business platforms, as well as products sold by second-hand electric suppliers such as TheRealReal, whose "fate" is beyond the control of luxury goods brands, but after such incidents, brands are often left behind. This kind of retail electricity supplier is also faced with how to avoid the severe test of similar problems.

The "T-shirt gate" continues to expand on the same day. Some netizens also found that the Japanese sports brand Asics listed Hongkong and Taiwan as the state in its drop-down option of "choosing your country" in its official website. Later, Asics brand spokesperson Han Dongjun also issued a statement in a timely manner, announced the termination of cooperation with Asics brand endorsement. Immediately after that, American fashion brands Calvin Klein, LVMH's French beauty brand Fresh and so on were all named "quick apology".

Compared with Dolce & Gabanna's slow response and inappropriate response after last year's "insult to China" incident, the brand was promptly dealt with by crisis public relations. For most of the executives in the western "holiday month" luxury brands, this time the Chinese crisis has shown enough attention. They have assured Chinese consumers, unswervingly supporting China's national sovereignty and the "one China" policy.

This is probably because the lessons of Dolce & Gabanna are still in the ear, and anger Chinese consumers will be more serious in the current sensitive situation. A report released last month by Gartner L2 showed that in the first quarter of 2019, the participation of Dolce & Gabbana on social media in China dropped by 98% over the same period last year.

In essence, luxury brands collectively violate the forbidden area of native culture, reflecting the brand's understanding of the sensitive positioning of China's Taiwan and Hongkong regions. "Unfortunately, this kind of thing is not surprising to me. Unfortunately, the brand is not well explained to enough people in the company to hear how serious it is," said Benjamin Cavender, a senior research fellow at China Market Research Consulting.

A collective apology with a high degree of collective error and subsequent copywriting actually exposes the contradiction between the new demand of luxury brands under globalization governance and the historical legacy left behind by extensive growth. Many brands have entered the Chinese market in the form of agency. Although they have been returned to the battalion, they are mostly overseas, and the lack of multiple people has bought them a minefield.

"I personally believe that in essence, it is a continuation of habit. For a long time, foreign companies, whether in the organizational structure or in the internal performance reports, have separated the mainland, Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan separately. So first of all, it is a continuation of habit. A better brand will be collectively referred to as "Greater China". But strictly speaking, this is not in line with legal and political norms, "BoF, a fashion business consultant and columnist Leng Yun.

"Secondly, we do not pay enough attention to this kind of thing. Some brands will have legal checks when making patterns. Lest brands violate local laws. But obviously, not every luxury product has set such a process. Finally, there is a lack of local talent. Luxury is the weakest part of all the fashion brands in the localization of talents, "he said.

To explain in simple language, that is, the brand continues to be lazy in making money easily. In addition to the market, they lack the desire and motivation to truly understand China.

In fact, netizens collectively carry out the "Diet Prada" style with continuous attention and supervision. In essence, they are resisting the neglect of the brand in the management of the Chinese cultural forbidden area or even ignoring it. This also means that in the current public opinion environment, the decision to provide consumers with high added value of luxury goods has become a cultural activity. Fashion luxury brands also need to shoulder the responsibility of reflecting the local social, cultural and political and economic conditions.

People's daily, the official media, sharply commented that "unruly multinational enterprises" may be away from "cool". "Two major international brands," coincidentally "made stupid mistakes, not only aroused the indignation of the Chinese people, but also made their brand in China's market prospect bleak. Especially in the "sensitive period" where Hong Kong Independence forces are making waves, such mistakes are more of a worse nature, "the editorial wrote. "What is worth pondering is that some transnational corporations are caught up in the present situation and have strong desire for survival. The conventional action is to apologize. The question is, is apology useful?

"This incident is aimed at the fragile luxury market, and it is aimed at all foreign companies. These brands rely on word-of-mouth and blind likes. Once they get mixed up with political factors, it's easy to get yellow," said Wang Danye, chief China economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

With the uncertainty brought about by Britain and the overall economic downturn in Europe, luxury brands will become more dependent on the Chinese market in the future. If they lose the flow of stars, if they lose the confidence of Chinese consumers again, their future will be full of more uncertainties.

With the continuous fermentation of public opinion, luxury brands will not only conduct a strict self-examination, but also re-examine their internal communication patterns and even their business models. Wang Dan believes that the brand's concept of the Chinese market also needs to undergo essential changes. "I think this impact on foreign enterprises is a conceptual change. The Chinese market has changed from a simple big market to the most important market that determines the fate of an enterprise. The changing attitude of these enterprises will eventually become a political force affecting relations among countries, "Wang Dan said.

As the industry most easily concerned by social media, if fashion and luxury brands change in a timely manner, they may also avoid further "plot development". Author: Denni Hu