CEO Interview｜From “Royalty” to China E-commerce: The Innovative Path of Delvaux, a Belgian Luxury Leather Goods Brand

Delvaux, a Belgian luxury leather goods brand with a history of 190 years, has been awarded the title of “Royal Supplier of Belgium” by the King since 1883. As a classic European luxury brand with an aura of honor, it has recently completed its first “electric” action in China.

Why choose China to make such an attempt? In an exclusive interview with Gorgeous magazine, Mr. Marco Probst, Global CEO of Delvaux, said frankly:

“After seven years in China, the team now needs to clear its mind and consolidate its operations in this digital ‘frontier’. Looking ahead to 2020, rather than focusing on opening stores, we would like to focus on controlling our omni-channel operations.”

In recent years, Delvaux has been actively expanding globally and opened its first mainland store in Beijing, China in 2013; now, seven years later, Marco Probst is leading the team to start a new exploration of the brand's digitalization.

Marco Probst is a veteran of the luxury industry with many years of management experience in Asia and China. Prior to joining Delvaux, he was the Chief Financial Officer of the Hong Kong branch of the famous German brand HUGO BOSS and the Chief Operating Officer of the French luxury brand CHLOE.

According to a recent report released by Bain & Company, about 90% of the incremental global luxury sales in 2019 will be contributed by Chinese consumers. Chinese luxury consumers are literally “quick learners”, full of curiosity and eager to explore relatively niche and historically fascinating luxury brands like Delvaux. A netizen wrote in his travelogue of Belgium: “The first thing to do in Brussels is to shop Delvaux”.

Delvaux officially entered JD, opening the first official online flagship store in the brand's history, taking an important step in the implementation of its multi-channel core strategy for the Chinese market. This move has also attracted widespread attention in the luxury industry.

On why Delvaux chose JD to make its first foray into e-commerce in China, Marco Probst said: “We are always looking for opportunities to create extraordinary shopping experiences for our customers and strive to provide unique and high-quality services. JD is unique in its ability to guarantee the authenticity and reliability of its products while delivering the high end service that it promises. We look forward to solidifying this quality relationship as we explore the Chinese e-commerce market.

In addition to Delvaux, Prada, MiuMiu, Mulberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tod's and other luxury brands have also entered the JD platform in the past two years.

About Delvaux

Founded in 1829 in Brussels, Belgium, Delvaux is “the world's first luxury leather family”, its founding time than the independence of the Kingdom of Belgium is one year earlier, the founder is a leather craftsman Charles Delvaux.

In 1883, Delvaux was honored by King Leopold II of Belgium as Supplier to the Court.

In 1933, Franz Schwennicke takes over Delvaux, which becomes a luxury brand and introduces for the first time the concept of seasons in leather goods, based on the Haute Couture model.

Under the successive leadership of Franz Schwennicke and his wife Solange, Delvaux created a number of heirloom models, most notably the Brillant bag designed for the Brussels World Expo in 1958. The collection was designed by the famous Belgian architect Paule Goethals and was endorsed by Mrs. Kennedy. Another classic collection, Tempête, was launched in the 1960s, also by Paule Goethals, and was inspired by the sailing slings that were used in the Belgian North Sea at the time.

In 2011, First Heritage Brands, the investment company of Fung Brands, part of the Hong Kong-based trading giant Fung Group, acquired a majority stake in Delvaux.

About JD

JD.COM is China's leading supply chain-based technology and services company. Its cutting-edge retail infrastructure enables consumers to buy whatever they need, whenever and wherever they need it. JD has opened up its technology and infrastructure to partners, brands and multiple sectors to drive productivity and innovation across industries as a retail infrastructure service provider. JD is also a member of the NASDAQ 100 and a Fortune Global 500 company.