In a localisation push for the ages, Chanel (香奈儿) has opened a massive cultural space in Shanghai. The Espace Gabrielle Chanel (嘉柏丽尔·香奈儿空间) hits high notes on many counts, not least for being a major piece of on-the-ground brand building in a segment that is more used to pop-ups and seasonal spectacle.
The space is part of the Power Station of Art (上海当代艺术博物馆), a post-industrial art museum and China’s first such space dedicated to contemporary art. It spans around 1,700 square metres and centres on a public reference library holding more than 50,000 titles across art, design, architecture and the social sciences.
This positions the venue as a cultural rather than a curated display: The Espace Gabrielle Chanel is designed for time spent sitting down, not passing through. But the space goes well beyond books. The venue includes a 300-seat theatre for talks and performances, an upgraded design and research centre, and a terrace overlooking the Huangpu River.
And so, unlike your basic brand activations, this push embeds Chanel in Shanghai’s cultural infrastructure, blurring the line between sponsorship and stewardship. In that respect Chanel has chosen the long game over the short, credibility over immediacy.
Chanel isn’t the only brand to be chasing this kind of spotlight. Recently, Swiss running shoe brand, On, garnered attention by refurbishing a set of Shanghai tennis courts, a stunt that signaled it’s in for the long-haul.
If you look around, you can see other brands testing the waters. Luxury brands are increasingly holding long-form exhibitions in China – often in high-profile galleries or cultural spaces. Louis Vuitton opened that giant ship on Nanjing Road.
The Chinese market is maturing, and in that context foreign brands can no longer expect to walk into China and garner attention. Competition is stiff and consumers increasingly shrewd about value for money. Long-term moves like the opening of The Espace Gabrielle Chanel allow brands to build beyond a momentary splash. The reward is relevance in a market that no longer grants it automatically.
