Fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana’s very public blunder in late 2018 was one of the biggest news stories in China advertising over the past couple of years. Even a couple of years later, people are still talking about it. An insensitive online video followed by a series of incredibly irresponsible (and stupid) remarks by the company’s founder Stefano Gabbana on social media have likely done irreversible damage to the brand.
Reuter’s estimates that $500 million of the $1.5 Billion in annual sales for the brand is at risk. Given the magnitude of Chinese outbound shopping, the percentage of sales is probably well above 30%. For top luxury brands, when overseas sales to Chinese nationals are factored in, the share of sales to Chinese consumers often approach 50% of global totals. So, in fact, more than $750m in revenue could disappear.
Apart from the fact that good taste and respect should always be priorities for brand messaging, there are two other important lessons here for social media;
1. Brands need sage guidance on how to balance brand identity with China audiences
2. Brands need to listen more and create a real dialogue with audiences
More Listening, Respect of Audiences
The D&G debacle is an extreme example of poor judgement, guidance ...and above all, poor brand x audience cooperation. Smart brands in China should offer a much greater level of input to consumers on how the brand is defined. Much more needs to go into social listening and genuine engagement.
Joakim Lundquist, CEO of Lundquist srl, put it well; “The Dolce Gabbana crisis should be seen as a wake-up call for companies in the fashion industry. Scandals like this confirm our research findings that fashion and luxury companies can no longer afford to ignore stakeholder expectations for transparency, openness, accountability and dialogue.”