UNIVERSITA’ DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA DIPARTIMENTO DI SCIENZE ECONOMICHE ED AZIENDALI “M.FANNO” CORSO DI LAUREA MAGISTRALE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION TESI DI LAUREA DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES OF LUXURY FASHION BRANDS IN CHINA: THE PRADA CASE STUDY RELATORE: CH.MO PROF. PIERGIORGIO DAL SANTO LAUREANDA EMMA SIMO MATRICOLA N. 1206365 ANNO ACCADEMICO 2019 – 2020 Il candidato dichiara che il presente lavoro è originale e non è già stato sottoposto, in tutto o in parte, per il conseguimento di un titolo accademico in altre Università italiane o straniere. Il candidato dichiara altresì che tutti i materiali utilizzati durante la preparazione dell’elaborato sono stati indicati nel testo e nella sezione “Riferimenti bibliografici” e che le eventuali citazioni testuali sono individuabili attraverso l’esplicito richiamo alla pubblicazione originale. The candidate declares that the present work is original and has not already been submitted, totally or in part, for the purposes of attaining an academic degree in other Italian or foreign universities. The candidate also declares that all the materials used during the preparation of the thesis have been explicitly indicated in the text and in the section "Bibliographical references" and that any textual citations can be identified through an explicit reference to the original publication. Firma dello studente _________________ 1 Outline Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 4 1 Part 1: Luxury Fashion Industry ...................................................................................... 6 1.1 What is Luxury? ................................................................................................................... 6 1.1.1 Fashion & Luxury ............................................................................................................................ 7 1.1.2 The Luxury Brand ............................................................................................................................ 9 1.2 Global Luxury Fashion Industry ...................................................................................... 11 1.2.1 Industry Outlook ............................................................................................................................ 11 1.2.2 Success drivers for the Industry ..................................................................................................... 14 1.2.3 Key Markets ................................................................................................................................... 17 1.3 Key Players ......................................................................................................................... 23 1.3.1 LVMH ............................................................................................................................................ 24 1.3.2 KerinG Group .................................................................................................................................. 25 1.3.3 Richemont ...................................................................................................................................... 26 2 Part 2: Chinese Market ................................................................................................... 27 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 27 2.2 Country Profile ................................................................................................................... 27 2.2.1 Contemporary History .................................................................................................................... 28 2.2.2 Politics ............................................................................................................................................ 31 2.2.3 UnderstandinG the Chinese Culture ............................................................................................... 32 2.2.4 COVID – 19: Main Facts ............................................................................................................... 33 2.3 Chinese Fashion and Luxury Market .............................................................................. 35 2.3.1 Chinese Luxury Customer ............................................................................................................. 38 2.3.2 Millennials and Generation Z ......................................................................................................... 41 3 Part 3: Digital Marketing Strategies of Fashion and Luxury Brands in China ........... 45 3.1 Digital Marketing in Luxury Goods Market ................................................................... 45 3.1.1 Omnichannel StrateGy .................................................................................................................... 47 3.2 Chinese Digital Ecosystem ................................................................................................. 49 3.3 Digital Marketing Strategies of Luxury Fashion Brands in China ............................... 49 3.3.1 Luxury Brands in China ................................................................................................................. 54 3.3.2 E-commerce ................................................................................................................................... 55 3.3.3 Social Media .................................................................................................................................. 61 3.3.4 Influencer MarketinG and Key Opinion Leaders ........................................................................... 67 4 Part 4 – The Prada Case Study ....................................................................................... 69 4.1 Prada Overview .................................................................................................................. 69 2 4.1.1 A Brief History ............................................................................................................................... 70 4.1.2 Miuccia Prada ................................................................................................................................. 72 4.1.3 Brand Identity ................................................................................................................................ 74 4.1.4 Financial Highlight ........................................................................................................................ 78 4.1.5 MarketinG StrateGy ......................................................................................................................... 83 4.1.6 CSR DurinG Covid-19 .................................................................................................................... 86 4.2 Digital Marketing Strategies ............................................................................................. 86 4.2.1 E-Commerce .................................................................................................................................. 91 4.2.2 Social Media .................................................................................................................................. 94 4.3 Prada in China ................................................................................................................... 97 4.4 Digital Marketing Strategy in China ................................................................................ 99 4.4.1 DiGital Timeline ........................................................................................................................... 100 4.4.2 Customer TarGet ........................................................................................................................... 101 4.4.3 E-commerce ................................................................................................................................. 103 4.4.4 Social Media and Communication ............................................................................................... 108 4.4.5 KOLs and Influencers .................................................................................................................. 115 Conclusion and Recommendations ....................................................................................... 117 References .............................................................................................................................. 119 3 Introduction This dissertation aims at analyzing the Digital Marketing strategies of the iconic luxury brand Prada in the Chinese Market. China has increasingly gained more share in the total spending on luxury goods, with Chinese customers accounting for 35% in 2019. Millennials and Generation Z in particular represent a growing portion of the luxury consumption in Asian markets, as they are the maJor targets for luxury brands, which are adapting to their preferences in terms of product offerings, communication and engagement strategies. The case study’s purpose is to analyze how Prada is trying to engage with the customer target through digital communication and omnichannel shopping experiences. Digital Marketing is indeed one of the biggest challenges for the Western luxury brands that want to reach Chinese Millennials. The young Chinese luxury market necessarily requires