Digital Luxury Digest | Burberry Gets Social, Brands Battle Twitter Squatters, eBay Targets Affluent Shoppers, Asia Gives Hermes A Boost
“Burberry Launches Social Networking Site” (WWD)
Burberry will today unveil its own social networking Web site, Artofthetrench.com, an homage to the brand’s trenchcoat. According to creative director Christopher Bailey, the Burberry site is not commercial, but is aimed at engaging the brand’s fans and tapping into their passion for trenchcoats, old and new.
“GM, Kellogg, Nestle Beat to the Tweet as Squatters Take Over Twitter Names” (AdAge)
On Twitter’s @Hyundai page, there is a collection of 140-character blasts in English and Korean about oysters, cellphones and the Yankees. Clicking on a profile photo reveals a collage of scantily clad ladies bearing cleavage and more, and a caption saying, “Have a Lustful Day.” After having contacted the social-media site’s headquarters repeatedly to evict the squatter without success, the frustrated automaker has gone so far as to contemplate legal action.
“eBay Goes Upmarket With Fashion Site Launch” (Revolution)
eBay has launched a website written by fashion followers in an attempt to attract more ‘well-to-do’ shoppers. The Inside Source aims to shift perceptions that eBay only offers second hand goods and last season’s threads. The website will tap into the huge amount of shopping and browsing data generated by eBay users to track fashion trends and hot items. Information will be presented in articles, analysis and opinions from journalists and eBay community contributors.
“Asia Boosts Hermes Luxury Sales” (AFP)
Sales in Asia helped boost French luxury group Hermes in the third quarter, the company said on Friday, reporting an overall 10-percent rise in sales to 452 million euros (672 million dollars). In Asia, sales rose by 16.2 percent to 195 million euros. Excluding performance in crisis-hit Japan, where sales declined 0.9 percent, quarterly sales in the region were up 37.2 percent to 103 million euros.
