From livestreaming to social commerce, China has been at the forefront of digital shopping innovations. Now, Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion, the Chinese e-commerce platform, is stepping it up with a series of digital upgrades in the metaverse starting with an AR fashion show earlier this month in honor of its fifth anniversary, according to a release.

• Instead of supermodels, the show featured “super mascots” from a range of luxury brands that walked down the “virtual runways” wearing items from the collection, according to the company. Viewers were also allowed to take selfies with the mascots.
• “From 2019 to 2021, Luxury Pavilion has seen its customer base grow over 150% with sales increasing nearly 300%,” the company revealed.

Alibaba’s initiatives also come at a time when several luxury labels are already experimenting with the metaverse, which Janet Wang, head of Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury division, said the company has been ahead of before it even “became a buzzword.”

“So far, more than 100,000 consumers have visited our AR show online,” she told Retail Brew in an email. “We believe it’s critical for brands to interact with consumers multi-dimensionally through new digital technologies.”

Locked up, but online: And while the innovations have helped luxury brands in China keep up with—or in some cases, stay ahead of—digital trends, it has also been a critical strategy as China deals with near-constant lockdowns that have limited consumer access to physical retail.

Ground rules: Still, while digital strategies are integral to tapping into the Chinese market, brands that have been most successful under the Tmall umbrella have embraced a more omnichannel approach.

“Understanding the Chinese consumer and localization is key,” she told us. “And getting to know Chinese consumer behaviors and expectations can help brands plan their merchandising strategy and deliver the right level of customer service.”

Keep reading here.—JS

To look at Bally’s spring/summer 2023 collection strutting down the runway last week in Milan, you might never guess that the brand’s past and present are both firmly rooted in the mountaineering world. After all, snakeskin cowboy boots and leather weekend bags don’t exactly scream “outdoorsy.” But in 2022, Bally will make good on a promise to return to its mountainous roots by completing a cleanup of the Himalayas’ highest peaks.

The Swiss fashion house, founded in 1851, is best known for its shoes and leather goods, but got its start with something a little more rugged. In 1953, Tenzing Norgay wore a pair of Bally reindeer fur boots when he achieved the first ascent of Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary. Bally later designed custom shoes worn by climbers on the first ascent of Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain.

Today, Bally is pursuing two worlds: the exclusivity of luxury fashion (a pair of Bally snow boots retails for $875) and the realities of high-altitude mountaineering (every one of the 600+ climbers who attempts to summit Everest each year leaves an average of 18 pounds of trash on the mountain).

In 2019, Bally announced its Peak Outlook Initiative, a program aimed at removing garbage from the world’s tallest peaks.

• That year, a Bally-sponsored expedition removed more than a ton of waste from Everest, half of which was retrieved by climbers from the “Death Zone,” above 8,000 meters.
• In 2020, the brand launched a nonprofit—the Peak Outlook Foundation—and pledged to sponsor cleanups of eight 8,000-meter peaks in the Himalayas by 2022.

Keep reading here.—MA

Today’s top retail reads.

Tradewinds: The time between summer and fall is typically the busiest time of year for cargo ships, but carriers are reducing trips in response to waning demand. While two to four canceled trips per week is typical, around 40 scheduled sailings from Asia to the East and West Coasts of the US were called off for the two-week period starting October 3. (the Wall Street Journal)

Up and coming: A look inside Vermont’s “soft” rollout of recreational marijuana dispensaries, which opened this weekend in the Green Mountain State. But the road to opening weekend has been tumultuous, with some growers still waiting for licenses. (Fortune)

Building blocks: Danish toy maker Lego left Russia amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine, ending its contract with the Russian franchiser that owned and operated Lego stores. Inventive Retail Group said it’s replacing those stores with World of Cubes, which it says will still sell official Lego toys. (Reuters)

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What happened in the world of retail this week in…1872 and beyond? Retail Brew takes you way, way, way back.

• On October 3, 1872, Bloomingdale’s first store opened in New York.
• On October 3, 1899, John Thurman patented the first motor-driven vacuum cleaner.
• On October 5, 2011, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died. He was 56 years old.
• On October 6, 1951, W.K. Kellogg Company founder Will Kellogg died.
• On October 7, 1913, Ford debuted a moving assembly line in its Michigan car factory.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Move over, Build-A-Bear: Newer digital native brands want to take over the mall
• Chewy CMO Mark Eamer on how to be a digital-only retailer with a human touch
• Tools of the Trade: In 1953, the bread clip came along with a fresh take