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BTS’ RM is first-ever Bottega Veneta brand ambassador

Bottega Veneta has a new brand ambassador, according to a recent social media post by the luxury Italian label’s creative director, Matthieu Blazy, via his personal Instagram account.

SEE ALSO: Kering reports 2022 group revenue up despite a mixed fourth quarter

In a post posted on March 31, Blazy welcomed BTS boy-band member RM (whose real name is ​Kim Nam-joon) to the Bottega Veneta brand, posting a picture of the South Korean celebrity wearing an outfit from the Bottega Veneta spring/summer 2023 collection. “Andiamo! Welcome to the family @rkive,” read the post caption, on behalf of the brand.

Likewise, RM responded and reposted the same campaign image on his personal Instagram account, with the caption: “​So happy to be a part of the Bottega family!”

The deal serves as milestone for the Korean celebrity, with RM becoming the first-ever brand ambassador for the Kering-owned Bottega Veneta, and his nationality makes his hiring a strategic choice for Bottega Veneta.

South Koreans are the world’s biggest spenders on luxury per capita, according to a recent report by Morgan Stanley. Total spending on personal luxury goods by South Koreans year-on-year grew around 24 percent to USD 16.8 billion in 2022, amounting to USD 325 per capita.

That’s more than the USD 55 and USD 280 per capita spent by Chinese and American nationals, respectively, according to Morgan Stanley estimates.

RM’s appointment comes approximately two months after the luxury maison officially returned to social media, having deleted all accounts across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Weibo, in early 2021.

In 2022, Bottega Veneta revenues surged 16 percent to EUR 1.74 billion euros (USD 1.9 billion) for the twelve-month period, according to parent company Kering’s most recent trading update. Overall, Kering disclosed its group revenue exceeded EUR 20 billion in 2022, up 15 percent as reported and 9 percent on a comparable basis, despite a mixed fourth quarter for many of its brands.