The Net-A-Porter of China: Wooha 唔哈网

One of the promotions found on Wooha’s home page

The launch of Mr Porter by Natalie Massanet and her crew is a clear sign that E-tailing in the western world is both feasible and profitable. With the recent boom in digital commerce, it comes then as no surprise that there are Chinese versions of Net-A-Porter that serve the domestic market in China. These websites aim to position themselves in those higher echelons of quality and brand equity. One such website is Wooha, China’s premier e-tailer of genuine luxury goods. Garnering three million customers each month, the site carries over 500 world renowned brands. Moreover, with an understanding that is fundamentally rooted in wooing the local Chinese consumer, the company is proving that the Chinese, like their western counterparts, are willing to spend big bucks online. 

A first glance at Wooha’s website shows a clean, uncluttered layout, with a visual simplicity  that some of its other competitor’s lack. Looking at competitors such as Epinwei, 5Lux and HiTao (Taobao’s Luxury Section), none seem to have that sophistication that Wooha has. Epinwei uses a tacky acid yellow, making the website look homemade and cheap. 5Lux is a bit more of an improvement, but the experience too seems slightly jolted with its array of discordant fonts and its factory assembly line of products. HiTao confuses me with its website looking very reminiscent of templates from its mass-targetted Taobao section, only with a new logo slapped on  and little thought about how to woo consumers  to spend large sum of money online. 

Wooha and Muji: Separated at Birth?

Understanding the Chinese market, Wooha also emphasizes brand awareness and education through its “Trends” section. Targeting a clientele of domestic nouveau riche, the site provides content through brand awareness, trends, as well as history in both the house and designer. If it’s one thing that Wooha has recognized about Chinese consumers, is that they are shrewd learners in the luxury game and “Trends” provides a lot of value to these customers. The scope of information and research done is commendable. Despite this merit, some parts however seem to read more like a textbook that fails to engage viewers with too much text and not enough media (video, audio, image etc) especially in talking about brand histories. An integration of other forms of media within the shopping process instead of separating shopping and brand education would allow for a much more vivid and organic way of shopping online. 

 A screenshot of an information section regarding Celine and their clasp bag found on in their “Trends” section and brand story.

Lastly, Wooha has a significant E-Commerce section dedicated to “Living” including stationery, wine equipment, bedding and linens etc. Although I can understand the need to showcase a variety of products to portray an aspirational lifestyle, some products seem at odds with a luxury market positioning: namely “Elecom tissue wipes”. The strategic use of entry goods to hook customers in such as key chains and stationary are imported, but these lower end products have to be curated judiciously. 

Image Source: Wooha.com, Muji.com.hk