It’s hard to be the smartest shopper paying the right price for items. When considering to buy a luxury item, there are millions of merchant stores in the world, both online and offline and fragmented data points about the price. A Shanghai-based company is appealing to price-savvy customers who want to purchase luxury items at the lowest price as well as to learn more about the price fluctuation on different locations.
LUXSENS profiles product information on a centralized platform with their real-time pricing and inventory system. The team possesses the technology related to neural networks and uses a deep learning algorithm to map the prices and attributes of products automatically.
Their luxury e-commerce platform runs on their WeChat account, where customers can either order the product online or purchase the item on-site by traveling abroad. LUXSENS takes 10% commission for online purchases and 5% commission for items reserved and bought in-store.
Kenny Au, founder and CEO of LUXSENS, did not mention sales figures but did reveal that the company had sold six Hermes Birkin bags which costs 60,000 to 90,000 RMB, in less than two months.
“In the next five years, prices will be more transparent than ever, shoppers will continue to be very rational via the best content that internet companies can bring to them. Content is important to drive. It’s the building the trusted relationship with them,” he told me.
As a head of commerce at Brand Off, Kenny managed 65 stores in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, specializing in luxury products. This allowed him to establish a good relationship with luxury brands.
“Some people find us similar to Xiaohongshu. Their user-generated content allows them to appeal to the younger customers, mostly interested in cosmetics and face masks. But for those who want to buy luxury fashion items, they will rather search on the platform that has very professional information,” Kenny remarked.
Other players in the market include Shanghai-based luxury product and service platform Secoo, who raised 50 million USD series E round from Ping An in 2015, and XIU, a Shenzhen-based luxury brands e-commerce company who raised 30 million USD in 2015.
“Their business models are highly capital intensive. They need to take pictures of the product, package and store them, which requires just too many staff, and they need to negotiate with the merchants,” Kenny said.
The Shanghai-based company will close their 1 million USD angel round soon and their goal is to form a shipping hub in Hong Kong this year. The company is also planning to start offline events to build trust and relationship with customers.
“Milan station is the first listed company in Hong Kong for second-hand luxury brand bags. We want to be the first listed internet company in the world that specializes in pre-owned luxury brands. Milan station grew offline through retails, but we want to grow online,” Kenny added.