Key takeaways:
- Taking a leaf from Brandy Melville’s playbook, W.Management goes beyond hiring attractive young sales assistants.
- From in-store “check-in” spots to celebrity collabs and “one-day managers”, essentially male idols, the brand has created an idol-centric aesthetic.
- Leveraging the “female gaze” consumerism boom in China, the brand provides sought-after “emotional value” with its strategy.
You’ve probably heard, if not seen, how the Italian multinational fast-fashion brand Brandy Melville staffs its shops. By hiring skinny and attractive young models, the role doubles as both sales assistants and walking billboards and mannequins for their garments. With its “one size fits most” philosophy, the idea of “BM girls”, a term already well-known in China, refers to a specific body type and style that fits with the brand’s aesthetic.
W.Management effectively runs a multi-channel network (MCN) agency from its shop floor
However, W.Management (often WM), a Chinese brand that was founded in 2023, has taken the idea of star sales assistants to the extreme by effectively running a multi-channel network (MCN) agency from its shop floor.
Put the management back into W.Management
W.Management is not a brand you’d typically discover online. But when it opens or is about to open in the city you live in, you will no doubt hear about it. Images of queues forming in front of the hoarding of a planned WM store, made up entirely of attractive young people, from slim, fashionable girls to tall, muscular guys, start to infiltrate social media ahead of each opening. You’d think it was a management agency holding auditions for idol groups before you realised it was for apparel shop interviews.
The shops, of course, are also specially designed, fitting into the brand’s aesthetic like the staff members. Each store is large, usually over 2,000 square metres, and all are decorated in different but equally impressive styles, complete with “check-in” (打卡) spots. The brand is also expanding rapidly, with 23 locations in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Shijiazhuang and Nanning, less than 3 years since its founding.
Idol management？
There is little wonder why W.Management staff recruitment looks like auditions, as each sales assistant serves as a KOL or brand influencer, and there are “one-day managers” that are, for all intents and purposes, idols.
There are “one-day managers” that are, for all intents and purposes, idols
The brand works with young celebrities who fit their aesthetic, such as Chinese K-pop singer Song Yuqi and Japanese singer Giselle from the K-pop group Aespa, to promote certain items and host offline events. Meanwhile, sales assistants are also influencers, posting on social media about their outfits and daily life at work.
However, the biggest attraction is the “one-day managers”. These are usually influencers from various fields, including models to “face influencers” (颜值博主), or even minor actors. All the makings of an idol business, from voting to deciding a “centre”, to fan engagement and merch are considered in the “one-day manager” selection.
The female gaze
Not only are fans voting online for their preferred “mystery manager” to be hired, but they can also choose which days the manager will be in-store. Women and girls will traverse entire cities to meet their idol managers when they are voted in. However, there are almost always long queues to enter the store, even at 5pm in the afternoon.
However, if you don’t have time to shop inside, you can still pick one of the available dashing young men to interact with (from a distance) and take photos of at the entrance. These hosts, with their professional smiles and signature “heart gesture”, can suffice for those who haven’t come for a particular idol and don’t have much desire to shop.
After any in-store purchase, you can interact with one of the 7 “managers” that day for 40 seconds, including small talk and a photo, but no autographs or intimate poses (handholding with fingers interlocked is the extreme). Of course, some are brave enough to ask for a hug, and the “managers” usually oblige.
This marketing tactic taps into the increasingly popular trend of “female gaze” consumerism in China. Otome games (乙女游戏, to oversimplify, women-centric dating sim games), virtual idols, as well as real-life idols and “group livestream” idol groups, are all demonstrating the purchasing power of female fans. This is also part of the “emotional consumption” trend, which overlaps with trading card collecting (as idols often include cards as their merch). However, for W.Management, commentators have raised complaints about its quality, lack of online channels and pricey offline expansion, all of which are potentially a threat to the business. Whether the marketing-as-strategy will continue to work for the viral brand warrants continued observation.