What LVMH, Kering, L’Oreal have shown at The CIIE?

From November 5 to 10, 2019, the 2nd China International Import Expo (the CIIE "Expo") was held in Shanghai.

The Expo not only featured the Quality Life Section, also launched the High-End Consumer Goods Section for the first time, which attracted many international brands and luxury groups such as LVMH Group, Kering Group, L‘Oreal, Estee Lauder, Shiseido, Unilever, etc.

In this article, Luxe.Co reveals how these brands leverage the Expo to showcase their overall corporate image and expand their popularity while integrating the Expo-advocated concepts of "Green, Recycle and Sustainable".

LVMH Group: Immersive Interactive Experience, Multi-angle Display of Brand

LVMH Group, together with its 13 brands, debuted for the first time with over 500 square meters of exhibition space. This not only provided more people with the opportunity to have intimate interaction with many of the world's top luxury brands, but also presented and showcased the overall image of LVMH Group.

The exhibition area was divided into five categories: Wine and Spirits, Fashion and Leather goods, Perfume and Cosmetics, Watches and Jewelry, and Boutique Retail. The pavilion featured 13 brands of the group which are already in the China market, including BVLGARI, CHANDON, CHAUMET, DIOR, FENDI, GIVENCHY, GUERLAIN, HENNESSY, LORO PIANA, LOUIS VUITTON, MOET & CHANDON, SEPHORA, and TAG HEUER.

In order to allow the audience to have a better understanding of the group and its brands, LVMH also made a WeChat Mini Program for this Expo, which included venue navigation, a telling of the group story, a brand introduction, as well as other information. 

Highlights of LVMH's Pavilion

BVLGARI
BVLGARI showcased two innovations: the BVLGARI Dream Machine and BVLGARI Touch. BVLGARI Dream Machine is a jewelry vending machine that allows users to measure the size of their rings and virtually try on jewelry products, and pay for them directly via the machine. The vending machine is expected to be used in airports and shopping malls in the future, with features such as Alipay Payment and WeChat Payment added to adapt to the China market.
BVLGARI Touch is an app that allows users to access exclusive content, including product descriptions, by simply touching the chip embedded in the back of a branded handbag or wallet after downloading the app.

CHAUMET
CHAUMET set up two interactive experience projects: the Diadem Wall and AR Ring trial-on device. On the Diadem Wall, there are 12 copies of the CHAUMET classic diadems, which can be tried on virtually and photographed. After photo shooting, the audience can get their own photos by scanning the QR code of the brands WeChat account.

SEPHORA
SEPHORA announced at the Expo that it will launch a cross-border e-commerce business. It was also reported that the SEPHORA T-mall flagship store will be launched after the end of the year. In addition to existing products in stores, SEPHORA also brought some popular and niche brands that have not yet entered the China market, which will be available on T-mall flagship store in the future. In addition, the SEPHORA booth also displayed its unique digital technology device - Cloud Shelf 2.0 and Virtual Makeup Test System 2.0.

Moët Hennessy
Moët Hennessy participated together with its three representative brands -- Chandon, Hennessy and Moët & Chandon -- at the Expo. At the event, Philippe Schaus, President and CEO of Moët Hennessy, told Luxe.Co: "Chinese consumers have a growing preference for high-end products, and they are eager for high-quality, luxurious and personalised products and experiences. We are also seeing the emergence of more young Chinese consumers who can afford Hennessy V.S.O.P and Hennessy X.O, and even some luxury champagne. With less than 2 percent of the overall market for imported alcohol and spirits in China, our share is still small, so we have a lot of potential in the booming Chinese market.”

Through a series of carefully designed immersive experiences, LVMH Group successfully provided people from different provinces and regions in China with a  one-stop understanding of the brand's corporate style, brand story and product essence.

Kering : Keep True to the Tone of The Brand, Advocate Sustainable Practices

Kering, the French luxury goods giant, made its first appearance with its brands in the 300-square-meter Kering Pavilion. It was also the first time for Kering to participate in a foreign trade exhibition as a group. The brands were divided into 3 categories: 

Fashion: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni.

Jewelry and Watches: Boucheron, Pomellato,  Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux.

Glasswares: Kering Wear

Highlights of the Kering’s Pavilion:

When one stepped into the 300-square-meter Kering pavilion, the most intuitive feeling was the balance between "brand independence" and "group integrity". Each brand displayed its latest representative works in a separate cubes of different sizes, and guided visitors to explore their own path.

Apart from the brand display area, the Kering Pavilion set up the Sustainability Lab and the Kering Lounge to tell the group's rich history and innovative practices with dynamic installations, live demonstrations, and interactive experiences.

“ The new generation of young Chinese consumers is a target audience that no luxury brand can afford to miss. ” said Jinqing Cai, President of Kering Greater China. She believes that Kering will have more and more say in defining future trends. Their focus on individuality, sustainability, animal welfare and diversity and inclusiveness are prominent examples of their views on luxury consumption.

The Kering Pavilion also elaborated on the group's practical actions in the field of sustainable development through four themes: "Caring For Women", "Materials Innovation Laboratory (MIL)", "My EP&L" and "Open Online Course (MOOC)".

During the visit, pavilion staff explained to us that each cube presented by the Kering Pavilion utilized flexible modular construction technology to facilitate installation and disassembly for use in future activities, pop-up stores and installations. From these careful design details, we can clearly see Kering Group's commitment to the concept of sustainability.

L’Oreal: Showcasing Its Brands While Promoting New Brands

In its second time participating, French beauty giant L‘Oreal Group this year advocated "New consumption", "New technology" and "New patterns" through total booth area of nearly 1,000 square meters with 3 different sections.

In the High-end Consumer Goods Section, L‘Oreal Group brought 11 brands, including NYX and URBAN DECAY (both of which were exhibited for the first time to Chinese consumers), attracting a large number of visitors to queue for the experience. URBAN DECAY is expected to go on sale online in the mainland market next spring.

Highlights of L‘Oreal Group’s Pavilion:

KÉRASTASE launched the first "Scalp Hair Quality Multi-Functional Intelligent Detection App" in the professional hairdressing industry.

"SkinDr Mobile One-Stop Skin Detection App” was exhibited in Asia for the first time.

SkinCeuticals "Custom D.O.S.E High-end Custom Dermatology Formulator" was exhibited in mainland China for the first time.

UV Sense, the world's first battery-free portable skin environmental detector, was launched in mainland China.

L‘Oreal salon in Paris set up the world's first dynamic hair color simulation app —- Style My Hair.

In addition, L‘Oreal has also set up a sustainable "experience zone" to showcase the group's sustainable development philosophy and practice, and has launched e-commerce green packages made of raw materials. It is reported that 50% of the group's booth construction materials are certified environmental materials.

Estee Lauder: Promoting More High-End Niche Brands 

The brands participating in the High-End Consumer Goods Section under the Estee Lauder Group included: Estee Lauder, LA MER, M·A·C, Clinique, Jo Malone London, TOM FORD BEAUTY, BOBIBI BROWN, Origins, DARPHIN, LAB SERIES, AERIN Beauty, GLAMGLOW, aramis, By KILIAN, Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, Too Faced, LE LABO, smashbox, AVEDA and BECCA .

Two of the high-end perfume brands, By KILIAN and Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle made their debut in mainland China. Another five brands, namely Too Faced, LE LABO, smashbox, AVEDA and BECCA, will also enter the mainland China market in the near future.

Clinique launched Clinique Reality — a smart skin diagnosis system, which uses biometric facial recognition technology to analyse the skin problems, and collect users' skin problem data from different dimensions, to customise exclusive skin care solutions. 

In addition to showcasing its star products, Jo Malone London also brought its lettering machine launched just a month ago. TOM FORD BEAUTY brought a limited range of luxury items to T-mall flagship store for the global premiere.

Unilever: Showcased Diversified Products, With Comprehensive Coverage Across Different Levels

In the expo, Unilever had three booths in the Quality Life Section, Quality Life High-End Consumer Goods Section and Food-Grade Agricultural Products Section, with a total area of 700 square meters.

The group brought in from South Korea, Japan, France, the US and other countries more than 30 brands of more than 500 kinds of products, including: The Good Stuff, LeverAyush, Zwitsal Fissan, Zendium, The Laundress, GROM, Tunemakers, Rafra, as well as 12 other brands that made their debut at the expo.

In the High-End Consumer Goods Section, Unilever brought the group's four high-end skin care brands: Kate Somerville, Dermalogica, Murad and Living Proof. All four of these brands have already launched e-commerce businesses in China and participated in Double 11 promotions.

Adhering to the concept of "making sustainable living a daily life", the exhibition booth was also built with as much eco-friendly materials as possible.