Secoo, China’s first e-commerce platform for second-hand luxury sales, has jumped on the NFT bandwagon by partnering with ZiWU, a subsidiary of Meta Media, (formerly Modern Media Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-listed magazine publisher who changed its name to Meta Media this February, becoming the first Chinese magazine to tap into the buzz of Metaverse).
ZiWU is a cultural space service provider, offering offline exhibition organisation, book sales, and workspace designs. The partnership will see Secoo, the online-to-offline e-commerce expert, be the only platform for ZiWU in online retail. In return, the latter will be the engine for the e-retail’s digital growth with its resources in art and culture, as well as expertise in developing the craved technology.
A series of print artwork published by ZiWU, which was created by the publisher’s collaborative artist Chen Danqing, has been listed on Secoo’s website, with prices ranging from 19,400 RMB to 34,000 RMB ($2,342.4 to $4,105.2). With the partnership maturing, it is expected more artistic creations will be landing on the luxury resale platform thanks to the artist talent pool owned by ZiWU. This will allow Secoo to broaden its range, and ultimately, extend its user base as well.
In the meantime, the arrival of artwork could also help pave the way for the online retailer to enter the hyped technology as they can be easily converted into digital collectibles, which could be a salvation for the brand who has been going through a downswing due to issues ranging from counterfeit goods scandals, to refund disputes.
The platform has also been facing challenges as a result of the dual impacts from both global luxury labels, who are doubling down efforts in building up their own digital ecosystem, and from domestic e-commerce giants, namely Tmall, which have been continuing to optimise their offerings in a bid to engage more big luxury players.
The latest cooperation between Secoo and ZiWU, therefore, would be a shrewd step to regain public confidence by leveraging the synergy of its own strength in retail and the NFT sensation thanks to the nation’s enthusiasm for new technologies.
