Dior in first with luxury WeChat handbags

Monica Almada is wearing a black seethrough dress from Fendi, shoes and the bag from Dior seen in the streets of Manhattan on July 18, 2016 in New York City. [Photo/IC]

France's Christian Dior has become the first luxury brand to sell top-end bags on WeChat, the most popular messaging and social network in China, offering its iconic Lady Dior bag on the platform.

On Monday, the designer brand posted its limited edition small Lady Dior for the upcoming Qixi, or Chinese Valentine's Day, which falls on Aug 9 this year.

Dior aimed to sell the bag between Monday and Thursday, but the bag sold out online on Tuesday.

For this limited edition, consumers can drag the online pictures of the decorations they want to the bag, tailor-making them to the needs.

The bag is priced at 28,000 yuan ($4,210), and buyers can directly purchase and pay through WeChat.

"Since luxury brands can find their target consumers by big data of WeChat, the largest social network in China, it's easier for them to advertise and sell products on WeChat," said Lu Zhenwang, an internet expert and chief executive officer of the Shanghai-based Wanqing Consultancy.

"Many luxury brands are operating under pressure, and they would like to open up the market through e-commerce platforms. Even if the sales were slow, they could achieve results through marketing and branding," he said.

Some other luxury brands, including Cartier, International Watch Company, Montblanc and Longchamp, have already launched their online sales platforms on WeChat, and provided some special services and discounts.

According to the 2015 China Luxury Forecast by global public relations firm Ruder Finn Inc and Ipsos Group Co, a Paris-based market research group, 36 percent of respondents in China said they would like to buy luxury products online, rising 24 percent from the previous year.

Dior is under pressure globally. In the first half, the fashion house and luxury retailer announced that its net profits fell 30.2 percent to 74 million euros ($82.8 million).

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