Luxury and e-commerce: the growth of SMEs in China. The case of the outstanding development of LuisaViaRoma

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the outstanding expansion e-commerce has had over the past few years in the retail industry in China. Considering that we are living in a digitalized age, where companies had to and must continually adapt to the transformations that are happening, a new challenge of particular importance is occurring for small and medium-sized enterprises, which must attempt to use their flexibility and capacity to adapt to the new market requirements. As can be assumed from the title, this paper will focus on three main aspects, which are the core arguments of the paper: e-commerce, the luxury industry, and the small and medium-sized enterprises, specifically addressed to the Chinese market. The three main areas will converge in the final case study. Our attention will be focused on LuisaViaRoma, an Italian SME operating in the world of the luxury retail that has significantly increased its sales with the development of the cross-border e-commerce channel. First of all, the thesis will highlight the main aspects of e-commerce from its development to the present day. Furthermore, the focus will be on the online commerce in the Chinese market and how the potential of the online commerce may help SMEs in developing a growth strategy. The second chapter will take into account the world of luxury and will explain how fashion houses have adapted to the new technological developments. The focus will always remain on how luxury SMEs managed to integrate e-commerce into their strategy and how the Chinese market responded to the introduction of online luxury sales. The third and final chapter will focus on the case study of LuisaViaRoma, with an analysis of the strategies it has adopted in recent years and how the company approached its entry into the Chinese market.