Jing Daily’s Top Posts for the Week
In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of January 16-20:
Paris Goes Extra Mile For Chinese Tourists, Motivated By Greater Competition
With Chinese outbound tourism recording more than 20 percent annual growth in recent years and overseas spending by Chinese tourists in 2011 expected to total around US$55 billion, major tourism destinations have been climbing over one another to not only attract more of China’s big spenders but also to cater to their every whim once they arrive. Though Paris — the long-time first overseas stop for outbound Asian tourists since the Japanese first started venturing to the city in the 1960s — has thus far been able to skate by on its natural allure, greater competition for Chinese tourists from destinations like New York, Sydney and Rome means French tourism officials are actually starting to go the extra mile.
As the FT reports today, the French airport operator ADP (Aéroports de Paris) recently announced plans for a “welcome scheme” for Chinese tourists, its largest-ever such effort for a specific nationality, to make Chinese tourists arriving at Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports “feel at home.”
3.1 Phillip Lim Launches First Hong Kong Location
Following the grand opening of his Singapore boutique, recently American designer Phillip Lim debuted his first standalone boutique in Hong Kong, a 800-square-foot space at Harbour City. Lim’s sixth store worldwide, the new location features clean lines and a stark minimalistic interior designed by Leong Leong Architecture. In addition to Lim’s latest collection, the store carries footwear, bags, sunglasses and belts.
Though not his first appearance in Hong Kong — Lim’s “4 x 3.1″ project for Lane Crawford made its debut in the city back in October 2010, and Lane Crawford has maintained a 3.1 Phillip Lim “Shop in Shop” for some time — the new location is an important step for Lim to (presumably) extend his brand within Hong Kong and function as a launchpad to a potential mainland China expansion. Though carried by Lane Crawford in Beijing, 3.1 Phillip Lim is still a rare commodity for brand-hungry Mainlanders.
China’s Appetite For Jewelry & Watches Proves Critical For Richemont
Steadily growing demand in mainland China, Hong Kong, and the broader East Asia region continues to be a bright spot for the Swiss luxury group Richemont, owner of such brands as Cartier, Shanghai Tang, Piaget and Montblanc. As the AFP reports today, Asian demand — led by the Greater China region — helped Richemont sales rise sharply in the third quarter of 2011.
In total, global sales grew to US$3.3 billion in Q3 2011, a 24 percent increase over the same period in 2010. This growth saw revenue from the Asia-Pacific region, at US$1.39 billion, pull further ahead of Europe and North America, which came in second and third with $1.15 billion and $483 million, respectively.
With Chinese New Year Approaching, South Korea Prepares For Tourist Influx
They come to shop, regularly outspend other foreign tourists, are arriving in record numbers, and have their eyes on a holiday in Korea: China’s outbound travelers, more of whom are going abroad to celebrate Chinese New Year in 2012. With mainland Chinese tourists becoming some of their best foreign customers in recent years, unseating the formerly dominant Japanese, this year we’re seeing South Korean department stores and malls pull out all the stops to attract more Chinese shoppers, ranging from advertising in China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper for the first time to offering special discounts for Chinese New Year travelers. The trend of expending greater effort in luring in Chinese tourist-shoppers is far from overkill, though: over the course of the Chinese New Year holiday (January 22-28), the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) expects at least 45,000 Chinese tourist arrivals, a rise of 35 percent over last year.
This month alone, the KTO expects Chinese travelers to spend at least 60 billion won (US$52 million) using their Union Pay credit cards, and around 100 billion won ($88 million) total, including cash.
Tapping China’s Mobile Boom, 360Fashion App Links Fashion Brands With Chinese Shoppers
With China expected to hit one billion mobile connections by May of this year, domestic social media platforms like Sina Weibo boasting more than 250 million users, and retail sales in the fashion and luxury segments maintaining strong double-digit growth, brands are looking more than ever at how best to create buzz among China’s coveted — and digitally savvy — 20-35 age bracket. Recently, leveraging her passions for and knowledge of fashion, technology and the China market, model and founder of 360Fashion, Anina and 360Fashion launched a localized, Chinese-language “Social News” app to help fashion labels and emerging brands do just that.
Pre-loaded on every Meego Nokia N9 sold in China, the app brings Chinese fashion lovers key news from the global fashion industry, while its close integration with Chinese social media platforms allows them to share photos and news with friends natively within the app.
