Tmall Luxury Pavilion gives digital boost to Watches and Wonders

By

Robin Driver

Published
Apr 17, 2021

China’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion has partnered with Watches and Wonders, the luxury watch fair organized by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), in order to enhance the event’s digital capabilities.

 
The Alibaba-owned luxury e-commerce platform is providing 3D try-on and livestream support for Watches and Wonders, which is running via a combined physical and digital format in Shanghai, April 14 through 18.
 
Tmall Luxury Pavilion will showcase the latest offerings from 11 luxury watch brands, including Cartier, Chopard, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin, along with featured brands from Net-a-Porter’s Tmall flagship. Watch fans can try the timepieces on virtually by using the platform’s virtual try-on and product customization capabilities.

As part of the partnership, top Chinese livestreamer Austin Li also hosted a three-hour live showcase featuring a curated selection of products from the watch fair on April 15, which attracted 7 million viewers on social media platform Weibo.  
 
The latest iteration of the collaboration between Tmall Luxury Pavilion and Watches and Wonders follows the two digital events hosted by FHH in cooperation with the e-commerce platform last year, when the Covid-19 pandemic prevented it from organizing physical events as normal.
 
The partnership also comes after a strong year for watches on Tmall Luxury Pavilion, where sales in the category saw 250% year-over-year growth in 2020.
 
Indeed, 2020 was a boom year all around for the luxury platform, which has continued to make solid progress in 2021, boasting 159% year-over-year sales growth in the three-year period from January to March.
 
First launched in 2017, the platform currently hosts storefronts from more than 200 luxury brands, up from 150 before the pandemic. Labels include Balmain, Ferragamo, Prada, Chloe, Saint Laurent and Van Cleef & Arpels, as well as a total of 17 LVMH brands, including Kenzo, Dior Beauty, Guerlain and Givenchy.