Retail in Asia

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Burberry and Tencent to open first social retail store in Shenzhen, China

Burberry x Tencent

Burberry announced luxury’s first social retail store in China’s technology hub Shenzhen, blending the physical and social worlds in a digitally immersive retail experience – a store of tomorrow for today.

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Luxury fashion house Burberry and Chinese technology powerhouse Tencent have entered into an exclusive partnership to develop social retail in China last November.

Through this partnership, Burberry and Tencent pioneer a concept that blends social media and retail to create digital and physical spaces for engaged communities to interact, share and shop.

Powered by Tencent technology, the store, which will open in the new Shenzhen Bay MixC development on 31st July 2020, is a space of exploration, designed to inspire and entertain luxury customers, where they can interact with our brand and product in new and exciting ways, in person and on social media.

Burberry Shenzhen store c Courtesy of Burberry_001
Source: Burberry

The concept, which is the first step in an exclusive partnership with Tencent, takes interactions from social media and brings them into a physical retail environment. Through a dedicated WeChat mini program, customers can unlock exclusive content and personalised experiences and share them with their communities.

The store is made up of a series of spaces for customers to explore. Each has its own concept and personality and offers a unique interactive experience. Drawing upon Burberry’s rich heritage, the store also celebrates the house codes as reinterpreted by Riccardo Tisci, including the Trench Coat, the Thomas Burberry Monogram, Nature and the Burberry Animal Kingdom.

Thomas Burberry was an inventor and a dreamer. The new social retail store reflects Burberry’s pioneering history of firsts and ambition to continue to push boundaries through innovation and creativity. It is a unique space to test and learn, where we can trial innovation that can be expanded to the rest of the Burberry network in China.

Burberry Shenzhen store c Courtesy of Burberry_004
Source: Burberry

“Burberry has always been a brand of firsts, built on a belief that creativity has the power to open spaces. We test new ideas and push the boundaries of what’s possible. When it came to innovating around social and retail, China was the obvious place to go as home to some of the most digitally savvy luxury customers. Together with Tencent, we have pioneered a new concept that will redefine expectations of luxury retail. The first step in an exclusive partnership between our companies, Burberry’s social retail store in Shenzhen is a place of discovery that connects and rewards customers as they explore online and in store. It marks a shift in how we engage with our customers and we can’t wait to share this innovative experience with the world,” said Marco Gobbetti, Chief Executive Officer at Burberry.

“‘Value for users, tech for good’ is Tencent’s mission. Through continuous efforts driving technology advancement, Tencent strives to provide better products and services to Burberry, and in relay to the consumers. Through the partnership with Burberry, we hope to provide our contribution in the upgrading of luxury retail, improving the quality of people’s lives, and promoting sustainable development, through which we hope to ultimately support maximising the social value,” said Martin Lau, President at Tencent.

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Davis Lin, Vice President of Tencent and responsible for Tencent Marketing Solutions said: “‘We are delighted to see the successful launch of Burberry’s first global social retail store in Shenzhen. We regard this as the starting point for a new era of innovation. Through connecting social and retail environments, we will create innovative digital services and delightful experiences for our users, help brands build deep emotional connections with consumers, and support the laying of strong foundations for the long-term growths of brands.”