Luxury app targets up-scale Chinese shoppers

A platform that gives users a way to explore global fashionistas' trends

Since its November launch of a social media app that provides Chinese consumers a means of collecting and sharing posts about fashion and lifestyle abroad, the luxury retail-focused digital platform Bomoda has seen a rapid jump in user number that now numbers 250,000 in 98 countries.

The app joins an already thriving newsletter in which Bomoda presents tailored luxury and lifestyle trends to Chinese consumers shopping overseas in cities including New York, London and Paris.

China now comprises 30 percent of global market share in the luxury industry, with Chinese shoppers skewing younger on average than their Western peers. For many of them, luxury brands are still a relatively new arena, said Brian Buchwald, a former NBC executive who launched Bomoda in 2012 with co-founder Suki Sun, former executive editor-in-chief at TimeOut Shanghai Magazine.

"In China, fashion and design as a personal statement of who you are is still very new, and for a long time many affluent shoppers simply bought luxury brands because of the status they suggested," Buchwald said. "What's happened in the last few years is that more and more young consumers are saying that fashion is a matter of personal taste, but their confidence level lags behind their spending power. It's one thing to know where to buy a handbag; it's another to know where you should wear that handbag."

A Bomoda newsletter might suggest cafes or hotels for the ideal travel experience, choosing potential experiences with an eye to what Chinese consumers might enjoy. A brand or product is presented not only in appearance, but in the context of its history, craftsmanship and previous associations with celebrities.

"We view Chinese shoppers as international citizens," he said. "We don't look at them as solely based in one city, and we recognize the plurality that can be present in one person today."

Bomoda has seen its biggest growth in the use of its social media app, which allows users to curate their ideal lifestyle inspirations in an easily sharable format. The app is compatible with Chinese social media platforms including WeChat and Sina Weibo.

"There hasn't been a platform before that gave Chinese users a way to explore global fashion trends shared specifically by Chinese fashionistas around the world," Sun said. "What makes Bomoda unique is that it's fashion-focused and image-friendly, giving users a way to collect and explore knowledge and a global sensibility."

Bomoda, which is headquartered in New York City with offices in Shanghai and Beijing, received $2.2 million in investment from backers including former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel and MediaMath CEO Joe Zawadzki.

Among the companies with which Bomoda shares partnerships are W Magazine, which does not currently have a Chinese edition, and Bloomingdale's, which as a multi-brand department store has no equivalent in China. W Magazine provides editorial content for both Bomoda's newsletter and the app, giving the company access to high-quality fashion photography and journalism.

Bloomingdale's is in the process of a rolling out a Chinese-focused micro-site, Buchwald said.

"Western retailers such as Bloomingdale's have noticed a surge in Chinese retail tourism in the past few years that is substantially bolstering their top line in primary American and European markets," Buchwald told Luxury Daily. "For the first time, Bomoda offers retailers such as Bloomingdale's the opportunity to reach the leading global travelers and luxury spenders in a digital and trackable way while they are in planning mode."

Ultimately, the company's aim to educate Chinese consumers is in line with a changing sensibility among young affluent consumers, Buchwald said.

"We want to help Chinese shoppers explore products and cultivate tastes, because there's a growing realization that fashion is a lot more than just a sign of how much money you have," he said.