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Janet Wang leads the Tmall Luxury Pavilion, the Chinese shopping giant Alibaba’s luxury shopping platform. Launched six years ago, Tmall Luxury Pavilion has become China’s leading luxury digital platform, selling over 200 luxury brands worldwide.
Overall, luxury sales in China have been slow to return to pre-pandemic levels, but Tmall has proven an exception.
“At the beginning of this year, we experienced the first wave of consumer rebound, following the end of [local] pandemic restrictions,” said Wang. “The Pavilion has pioneered the rapid digital transformation and upgrading of the luxury industry in China, especially in the past three years, which have been full of challenges and opportunities.”
This year, more than 80 million Tmall shoppers have browsed or added luxury goods to their carts more than 10 times, according to Tmall. Wang owed that to the platform’s innovative shopping experience.
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“Through 3D product displays, AR try-on, XR experiences, virtual avatars and our digital art gallery, we are continuously innovating the metaverse narrative of luxury brands,” said Wang. “We’re integrating technology with consumer scenarios, making Tmall Luxury Pavilion more fun and enjoyable.”
Shows from all four major fashion weeks, from New York to Paris, were livestreamed on Tmall this year, with 17 brands livestreaming their runways on the platform during September’s fashion month. Burberry’s show alone attracted over 1 million viewers.
Moving forward, increasingly leveraging data and AI will be crucial to the Luxury Pavillion’s success, Wang said. “We are piloting further application of new technologies such as AI, mixed reality and blockchain, which will shape the future landscape of luxury consumer experiences.”
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According to Alibaba, Taobao and Tmall’s AI tools were used by merchants more than 1.5 billion times between October 1 and November 6. As for consumer-facing tech, in September, the company also launched a generative AI chatbot named Taobao Wenwen to help with customer queries. So far, it’s been used by 5 million people.
Tmall Luxury Pavilion has cemented its hold on luxury as the only e-commerce platform in China that works with all five luxury fashion giants: LVMH, Kering, Richemont, Chanel and Hermès.
“The number of differences between the Chinese market and the global market continue to grow, particularly in terms of retail environment, digitalization, cultural anchoring and brand relationships,” said Wang. “But online platforms can break through time and geographical limitations, providing personalized experiences and services that are available 24/7 and without borders.”
In the quarter ended September 30, 2023, Alibaba reported revenue of $30.8 billion, an increase of 9% year-over-year.
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