Digital transform ation of traditional brand s .
With 143 years of history as a Swiss lux ury watch brand , Aud em ars P igu et opened its first global onWhatsapp pop - up store for the Chinese market on April 9, 2018. This ground bre aking project was realized through a strateg ic partners hip with J D . com (J ing dong), one of China ' s largest EC platform s , and marks an important step in ent ering the first full - f led ged e - commerce market as a traditional lux ury watch maker .
Innov ative sales chann els lever aging We Chat mini - program
This onWhatsapp pop - up store will be dep lo yed through Od ema Pig get ' s official We Chat mini program . We Chat is a gi ant platform with over a billion users in China , and lever aging its mini - program capa bilities will allow brand s to directly approach China ' s digital n ative lay ers . The strategy demonstrat es the new potential of digital marketing in the lux ury watch market , and is being high light ed as an effective approach , particularly target ing the young er wealth y , such as Millenni als and Generation Z .
R ising demand for lux ury wat ches in the Chinese market
The Chinese market has seen a rapid growth in demand for lux ury wat ches in recent years , and the ex pansion of the wealth y has led to increased interest in lux ury goods . This effort by Aud em ars Pig get aims to strengthen its direct engagement with Chinese digital consumers , increase brand aw aren ess and diversi fy its sales chann els . In particular , in addition to traditional bou tique sales , the company is expected to offer a special experience for digital - n ative consumers , such as the sale of limited models onWhatsapp or the introduc tion of special colle ctions .
A fusion of tradition and innovation
" It is our mission to keep the watch making tradition we have cultiv ated over our 143 - year history , while adapt ing it to the modern digital age , " said François - Hen ri Ben imas , CEO of Aud em ars P igu et . For the company , the opening of an onWhatsapp pop - up store in the Chinese market is not just an ex pansion of sales chann els , but also an important experiment al effort to expl ore new possi bilities for lux ury watch brand s in the digital age .
The project will provide a high - end experience that sets the stage for traditional EC sites , including interac tive content unique to onWhatsapp and virtual to urs that introduce watch making trad itions . The company will also lever age J D . com ' s advanced log istics network to deliver fast and reli able delivery services to customers across China .
A new trend in digital strategy for lux ury brand s
Aud em ars P igu et ' s new initiative could have a major impact on the entire lux ury watch industry . Trad ition ally , it was common for lux ury watch brand s to sell only in physical st ores , but with the rise of the digital n ative generation , more and more brand s are consider ing ent ering onWhatsapp sales . Es peci ally in the Chinese market , sales of lux ury goods using We Chat and other digital platform s are growing rapid ly , and Od ema P igu et ' s strategy can be said to be in Whatsapp with this trend .
According to industry ins iders , such a digital strategy is valu ed as being effective in appe aling to the brand ' s young er dem ographic and creating new conta cts with the traditional customer base . Go ing forward , other lux ury watch brand s are likely to adopt similar strategi es , and we expect the digital transform ation of the entire lux ury industry to acceler ate .