Just new anti-Apple propaganda, or should we all be worried?
Welcome to Jing Daily‘s China Luxury Brief: the day’s top news on the business of luxury and culture in China, all in one place. Check out today’s stories below:
Market Trends
The top news of the day is China's reported 7.5 percent GDP growth year-on-year in the second quarter. "#
That puts the economy on track to hit the government’s 7.5% target for the year, a result that would still be down from 7.8% in 2012, and the lowest growth since 1990," according to Wall Street Journal .
Policy
Premier Li Keqiang really wants a Shanghai free-trade zone, but financial regulators aren't so supportive.#
According to the South China Morning Post, anonymous sources have said Premier Li Keqiang "lost his temper" and "slammed his fist on the table in frustration" during a closed-door cabinet session where he faced intense opposition to his plan to open a free-trade zone in Shanghai.
Tech
Apple's in for another bad PR week in China.#
The
family of a 23-year-old woman from Xinjiang is alleging that their daughter was electrocuted from using her iPhone while it was charging. There's no word yet on whether or not both the charger and phone have been proven to be real Apple products, as fakes abound in China. Apple is now investigating . If they are real, and the product truly was at fault, then we all certainly have something to worry about.
Beauty
L Capital Asia invests in Chinese beauty brand Marubi.#
The LVMH-backed equity fund "admired Marubi’s steady growth in the “masstige” sector and had high hopes for the beauty company’s future prospects," according to managing partner Ravi Thakran .
Auto
Nanjing plans on adding 1,600 "luxury" cabs to road in preparation for the Asian Youth Games.#
Those traveling in the cabs "can expect to pay about 20 percent more ."
Retail
China's retail growth grew 12.7 percent in the first half of the year,#
announced the National Bureau of Statistics .
New K11 art mall doing well in Shanghai.#
"Mainlanders are not tightening their purse strings. They are more concerned about the shopping environment and their own position," said Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, executive director of New World Development .
In unsurprising news, Chinese comprise a main portion of foreign tourists driving New York City's shoe sales.#
An "uptick" in visitors from China is expected to help sales even more, says Women's Wear Daily .
Lane Crawford's decision to open a location in Beijing's Yintai Centre was "largely at the behest of a single cosseted customer,"#
said the store's interior designer Glenn Pushelberg . According to him, "There’s a woman named Tiffany Chen, who is the second-highest-spending shopper at Lane Crawford, and she wanted a store in that location.”