Youku’s Luxurious Dream 优酷网的奢侈品梦想

Leading online video site Youku (NYSE: YOKU) thinks it may have discovered a new goldmine in China’s new fondness for luxury brands, boasting that a number of top global designers, including Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Gucci, have flocked to its channel in recent months. (company announcement) I must admit this concept is quite intriguing, as such brands are more than willing to spend big advertising bucks to strut their stuff on channels like Youku if it will make more Chinese spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars for everything from high-end designer bags to perfumes and clothing. Youku points out that its channel may be particularly suited to help the designers reach their target audience, as Chinese consumers of luxury goods tend to be younger in general than their Western counterparts. One of my friends who sells to this segment confirms that this is indeed the case, saying flocks of young Chinese now pass through his Hong Kong stores daily and eagerly snap up any luxury goods on offer. Then again, another friend at a local university did a recent study that showed young Chinese consumers prefer to get their luxury brand advertising through more traditional media channels, such as TV and magazines, rather than on the Internet, possibly because the Web is seen as less exclusive and dominated by younger people who tend to have less money. It’s still probably too early to see if the luxury brands will stay with the Web in their China marketing plans.  My prediction is that such brands will indeed discover the Web is a good venue to peddle their wares in China, and will stay with it over the longer term, which would play to the advantage of Youku and rivals like Tudou and Xunlei.

Bottom line: Youku, Tudou and other online video sites are well positioned to gain from a potential explosion in online spending by luxury brands in China.

在线视频网站优酷网YOKU认为，该网站或能在中国热衷奢侈品的大环境中发现新的淘金点。优酷网称，全球众多顶级设计师品牌近几个月纷纷登陆优酷网，例如路易・威登（Louis Vuitton）、巴宝莉（Burberry）和古驰（Gucci）。我必须承认，这个想法相当诱人，因为如果能让更多中国消费者花数百或数千美元，购买高端设计师皮包、香水和服饰等产品，这些品牌自然愿意投入巨额广告费，通过优酷网等渠道进行宣传。优酷网指出，中国奢侈品消费者一般比西方消费者年轻，因此优酷平台可能尤其适合奢侈品牌向目标客户宣传。我的一位圈内朋友证实，情况确实如此，现在他在香港的奢侈品店铺每天都接待许多国内的年轻人，其购买力惊人。我还有一位在大学工作的朋友近期研究发现，中国年轻消费者更希望从电视和杂志等传统媒体渠道获取奢侈品广告信息，而非互联网，可能是因为网络看似没那麽专业，而且用户主要是没什麽钱的年轻人。奢侈品牌是否会在中国市场坚持网络营销手段，现在下结论仍为时过早。但我预计，这些奢侈品商会发现，网络确实是在华营销的一个不错渠道，并将在较长时间内通过网络进行宣传。优酷、土豆和迅雷等视频网站都将因此看到商机。

一句话：奢侈品牌或将在中国投入巨额网络广告宣传费用，从而让优酷网、土豆网等在线视频网站占尽先机。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Tudou: Back on the IPO Trail 土豆：重回IPO轨道

◙ Xunlei Marches Down IPO Aisle 迅雷迈向IPO之路

◙ Youku Ambushes Market with Massive Follow-on, Investors Bite 优酷利用投资者心理大捞一笔