China's First Dior Café Opens! Masters Invoked to Worship the God of Wealth in English?

Luxury Brands Entering the Coffee Business

It is no longer news when a luxury brand opens a coffee shop. Last year, when Shanghai's Qiantan Taikoo Li opened, it announced the district would welcome China's first Dior café. Since the Qiantan Dior store opened, however, it has operated as a pop-up shop, going through two theme changes with no news about the coffee shop.

It wasn't until July 31st of this year, after a third theme change, that this Dior pop-up officially became a flagship store, and China's first Dior café officially opened.

Unexpectedly, what drew public attention to the flagship store and coffee shop was neither the upgraded store design, the product displays, nor the exquisite afternoon tea, but a scene in which even a Western brand could not escape Eastern mysticism.

From a photo shared by a netizen, on the occasion of becoming a flagship store and opening the first brand coffee shop in mainland China, Dior invited a master to worship the God of Wealth.

The pictures show a red table inside the store, with properly caramelized roast suckling pig arranged in formation. As everyone paid respects and bowed, the master clasped their hands together, hoping the God of Wealth would bring good business to the store.

This contrast between a Western brand and Eastern customs left some netizens saying it was truly "Diao" - a pun on Dior. And Dior was not the only surprising case.

Some sharp-eyed netizens commented, "I'm familiar with this master! LV and Gucci stores also invited him for their openings!" He could be considered the go-to master for many luxury flagship store openings.

Instantly, what kind of exquisite afternoon tea Dior café offered no longer mattered; netizens were more concerned about whether the master prayed to the God of Wealth in Chinese or English. The original poster also mentioned that, since this was an act of cultural adaptation, the master spoke English.

(The God of Wealth, upon hearing this, probably thought: "Thank you, thank you very much.")

Because the coffee shop is still in its trial operation phase, it only offers desserts and coffee to customers who make in-store purchases. Dior therefore had not promoted the coffee shop opening much beforehand, and probably never expected the China-region Dior café to become known to everyone in quite this way.

Luxury Brands and Coffee Culture

The brand has opened several coffee shops in the Asian region, located in South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia. Originally, like other regions, the China coffee shop would have drawn netizens for its upscale dining environment and exquisite afternoon tea. Who would have thought that in China it would be the roast suckling pig and the English-speaking master that brought it into the spotlight.

Of course, the purpose of luxury brands opening coffee shops is not to join the coffee industry competition, but to shorten the distance between the brand and consumers by offering more varied consumption scenarios. Through diversifying products and services, they increase connections with customers - a sign of luxury brands actively embracing mass consumers.

Entering the coffee sector is more about experiencing social scenarios and extending brand scenarios. Coffee shops have long played a connecting role among people, matters, and things. They not only convey the brand's culture and philosophy but also let consumers immerse themselves in the brand's atmosphere while dining, gaining a deeper understanding of the brand.

Compared with the brand's products, the threshold for coffee and dessert consumption is lower, attracting more new and younger customers. It spares more young consumers the distant sense of alienation that the brand's traditional positioning might create.

This God of Wealth worship ceremony was much the same: the good intentions were real, and so was the marketing. Through this very down-to-earth opening ceremony, mass consumers felt that luxury brands could actually be this approachable.

Image Source and Credits

Image source: Internet

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