Yin jewelry (隐) is a Chinese jewelry brand created in 2014 by two Chinese women. Starting out as a niche independent designer studio on Taobao at first and then Tmall, Yin jewelry is now working towards a mass-market brand. The brand’s concept is to create and sell “timeless, subtle and gold jewelry”.
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In contrary to most jewelry brands, Yin does market their products as a gift or something for a special event like a wedding or engagement, rather Yin targets the end consumer: well-educated and classy women who are willing to pay for luxury.
Yin jewelry fills a gap in the Chinese gold jewelry market with design, quality and price
In China, most young people prefer fast fashion or foreign brands for jewelry. For fast fashion brands, it is mostly alloy or silver jewelry with artificial diamonds. Their prices are under 200 RMB/pc moreover fast fashion brands quickly update their collection to follow the latest trends.
As for international luxury brands, jewelry is mostly made of silver, diamonds and 18-karat gold, the price is superior to/of 1000 RMB/pc and their design is urban and modern.
In terms of domestic high-end jewelry brands, they prefer to use gold, silver and jade materials for their jewelry. The price depends on the weight and craft fee. The jewelry design slowly updates and may seem outdated.
The Chinese brand, Yin, indeed, fills a gap in the Chinese gold jewelry market: the brand uses 18 karat gold, they have affordable prices, their design is minimalist and their brand image is particularly modern. The Chinese gold jewelry brand has managed to take the best out of of their competitors and make it their advantage.
Strategy 1: Minimalist design and customized services
To set the brand apart from its competitors, Yin jewelry’s products have a minimalist design and customized services. To start with the brand products design, they got inspiration from the symbols and signals of nature and the universe. The minimalist design encourages consumers to mix and match, which effectively increases the unit price of orders and user stickiness.
Yin jewelry presents a collection of 26 minimalist designs, and offers customized services such as customized rings, or a free engraving service for most ring products with 2 optional letter patterns to suit different customer needs. On top of that, all consumers receive a pyramid jewelry box made of glass and metal along with their orders.
Yin jewelry’s products pricing range between 1,000 and 50,000 RMB and the average price per order is superior to 3,000 RMB.
Strategy 2: Use social media to change the stereotypes about gold
For centuries, gold has been a symbol of wealth in the minds of the Chinese, but today some see it as archaic, outdated, and bulky in size and weight. The Chinese gold jewelry brand has been working hard to connect with consumers to create a new interpretation of gold through simple design and sharing KOLs casually wearing their gold jewelry.
Gold is a stable metal that does not oxidize as easily as silver. Yin jewelry is hoping to bring this unique strength of gold into urban women’s daily life.
Strategy 3: Choosing premium offline locations to align with luxury brands
Yin jewelry positions itself as fine jewelry and therefore carefully chooses its offline outlets to enhance the brand image. They have 6 retail stores in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou). All locations are in tier 1 cities. Moreover, there are only the most exclusive shopping malls with the best buying power of consumers.
Strategy 4: Create emotional resonance with customers through co-branding
While many other jewelry brands target couples or people who are buying gifts, the Chinese gold jewelry brand targets women who have the means to buy jewelry for themselves.
Based on the emotional needs of highly-educated female consumers, Yin jewelry makes co-branding designs to create more emotional value for its jewelry.
Here are three popular co-branded products
Strength: Co-branding with domestic gym 24Kick 格斗学院, the design of the boxing glove is a tribute to feminine strength
Wisdom: Co-branding with National Library of China, design inspired by the traditional 5 elements of Fengshui: gold, wood, water, fire and earth.
Joy: Co-branding with rock band Joyside, the design is inspired by guitar picks. The shape of a red heart represents the “beating heart”.
Strategy 5: Precisely target well educated women on social media
Being a domestic brand, Yin jewelry has a shorter brand history than most of its fine jewelry competitors. During its seeding period, Yin jewelry told the brand story in a more localized way and built a closer relationship with its core consumers.
Vlogs are one of the most popular forms of content on the platform Bilibili. Ayur, one of the founders of Yin jewelry, shared her entrepreneurship story in vlogger’s channel.
RED KOLs present lifestyles that align with the brand image, rather than simply sharing photos of the jewelry.
Weibo is a platform for the fan-economy. On Weibo, Yin jewelry sponsors celebrities and collaborates with them to maximize exposure.
Problems: Transparent gold prices and fierce competition
The price of gold is transparent and Chinese consumers tend to judge the value of gold jewelry by its weight. However, when consumers ask about weight, Yin jewelry avoids giving a direct answer.
Key points to learn from Yin jewelry’s market strategy in the Chinese gold jewelry market
- The Chinese gold jewelry brand has been able to make the brand different from their competitors with their minimalist design, quality and affordable price.
- The brand puts its focus on targeting Chinese highly-educated women through social media campaigns with RED KOLs, vloggers and endorsing celebrities on Weibo.
- Yin jewelry also has partnered with other brands, personalities and even museums to create co-branding products in order to create an emotional resonance.
- The Chinese gold jewelry market is very competitive and is gradually moving towards a modern setting.
