Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding has launched a new luxury platform called Soho that targets younger consumers and also aims to help high-end brands shed excess inventory built up during the global coronavirus lockdown. The platform will allow brands to run their own online stores with full control over their pricing, product selection and strategy. It would be home to “luxury deals, older collections, timeless classics and vintage collectibles”.

The platform would help high-end houses reach newer consumers such as those from China’s lower-tier cities or so-called Gen Z shoppers, young clients up to the age of 25 who are just entering the world of luxury and are expected to become increasingly important for the sector.

Chinese shoppers account for more than a third of global luxury goods spending and China was the first key market to be hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced brands to shut stores and led to a virtual halt in international travelling.