撮要

Chow Tai Fook (CFT) was the world’s largest pure-play jewelry retailer by market capitalization, with reported sales of USD7.4 billion in fiscal year 2013. One study showed that within mainland China the brand was better known than other international jewelry brands. CTF’s aggressive expansion strategy aims to have 2,000 point-of-sales (POS) outlets by the end of 2014. Faced with a changing demographic, social, economic, and digital landscape within Mainland China, Kent Wong, the Managing Director of CTF, is challenged to fine-tune CTF’s operation and marketing strategies in order to retain current customers and acquire new ones. At the same time, the company is facing some severe headwinds that could slow down its growth path. One of the biggest hurdles is the anti-graft drive initiated by the new Chinese government to stamp out corruption among government officials. Many analysts fear that this campaign would have negative or even devastating consequences for many luxury goods companies like CTF, especially goods of conspicuous consumption.

学习目标

After discussion and analysis of the case, students will be able to:
1. Highlight the importance of a coherent distribution strategy to tap China’s inland cities;
2. Understand the importance of online/offline (“O2O”) synergy in distribution;
3. Understand the significance of brand building and customer relationship management (CRM) in luxury goods retailing; and
4. Evaluate the digital landscape of China and its bearing on a company’s marketing strategy.