Moncler unveils $28 million ‘The City of Genius’ in Shanghai
"Budgets are getting tighter,” a common sentiment we’ve heard in recent times. Based on this, it’s surprising to see a brand reportedly spend ￥200 million ($28m) on a one-day offline event. That brand is Moncler, which held the ’City of Genius’ in Shanghai on October 19, the latest chapter of Moncler’s Genius scheme dubbing for the first time in Asia.
Before the event, Moncler released an advertisement video titled "The City of Genius," directed by XWing Shya and starring global brand ambassador Leah Dou, exploring the relationship between genius, creativity, and humanity.
Spanning 30,000 square meters, the venue invited ten top talents from fashion, music, entertainment, art, technology, and design, including Rick Owens, Jil Sander, and Hiroshi Fujiwara, each to design a creative zone for an immersive experience. Over 8,000 attendees participated. Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Shu Qi, Nicholas Tse and Jada Smith were just some of the celebrities joining the festivities. The collections showcased at Moncler Genius will be launched from 2024 to 2025, starting with the Moncler x Lulu Li collaboration on October 24, 2024. According to a company representative, the event was live-streamed on WeChat, Douyin, RED, and Weibo, attracting 57 million viewers worldwide.
‘Moncler Genius’ is actually a long-term initiative for the Moncler brand. Launched in 2018, Moncler views it as a cross-disciplinary co-creation platform designed to invite external creative professionals from fashion, music, and art to collaborate and enrich the brand’s creative content. This is the first time the scheme has hosted an offline event in China, highlighting the brand's emphasis on the Chinese market.
“Shanghai, for me, is a very important city. And China has always been important for us not only for revenues but because of the culture here,” said Moncler's chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini during a press conference at Shanghai's Bvlgari Hotel on Saturday afternoon.
In the first half of the 2024 fiscal year, ending June 30, Moncler's sales in Asia grew by 12% year-on-year to €513 million, accounting for 49.3% of total revenue. Sales in the EMEA region also increased by 12% to €380 million, representing 36.5% of total revenue. Meanwhile, sales in the U.S. rose by 7% to €147 million, making up 14.2% of total revenue. Moncler has seen many of its stores in China outperform those in Europe.
Moncler's global brand ambassador, Wang Yibo (王一博), appeared at the opening ceremony of the Moncler flagship store located in Plaza, Shanghai, wearing pieces from the new Moncler x FRGMT collaboration. Image: Xiaohongshu @Moncler盟可睐
Although Moncler's ‘City of Genius’ event in Shanghai lasted just one night, it managed to capture the attention of young consumers in China, resonating with their desires for the expression of creativity. McKinsey's latest China Brief report, The Truth About Chinese Consumption, highlights:
“Chinese consumers have not lost their desire for luxury goods; they are simply choosing to make these purchases outside of China. How are luxury brands responding? With overseas spending outgrowing domestic spending, luxury brands are shifting their investments from opening new stores to stepping up their marketing spend. Expansion projects have been put on hold, with 111 new stores opened in the first half of 2024 compared to 150 during the same period in 2023. At the same time, marketing activity increased, with offline events and art installations rising from 36 in 2023 to 53 as of July of this year.“
