Prada Steps Up Digital Luxury Push

Could Snapchat be the key to helping struggling designer label Prada get out of a two-year rut? Perhaps.

The luxury goods maker announced plans earlier this week to introduce new lower-priced handbags and expand its online business to nearly double its current digital footprint, as it shutters brick-and-mortar locations. All of this is an attempt to reverse over two years of stagnant sales, according to a recent article by Internet Retailer.

In an investor presentation in New York this past Monday (April 11), Strategic Marketing Director Stefano Cantino said the brand will also narrow the spread on prices of new products between regions to about 10 percent.

“We are working deeply to really fill all the price ranges,” Cantino said of Prada’s plans (via IR) to introduce more bags costing between $1,368 and $1,597. “There is strong demand for newness.”

While those price points may seem far from “discounted,” they are a reflection of nose-diving demand in China for luxury goods and terrorist attacks that have rocked Europe and kept consumers out of malls and usually bustling shopping districts, notes the outlet.

In addition to addressing pricing, Prada is also delving into eCommerce more heartily than it has in the past. The brand plans to increase the number of categories it offers online, with a focus on shoes, and expanding its social media activities to include new emerging platforms, including Snapchat, Cantino told IR.

While the brand doesn’t plan to sell clothing over the Internet, it will be looking to drive online demand to the company’s 618 brick-and-mortar locations, he said. Prada hopes to double its online business over the next two years, one Snap at a time.