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. Look below for the top stories for October 22, 2013.#
Tesla has made its way to Zhejiang before it even reached Beijing. (Tesla)
— BUSINESS & FINANCE —#
China's economy "slowing" and "lopsided".#
A bearish take on the country's economic growth. (LA Times)
Luxury rents fall in Hong Kong on expatriate budget cuts.#
Real estate prices may be high, but luxury rents have been going down thanks to cuts to expat bankers' salaries. (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Is rising China inflation a good thing?#
"Rising inflation is a sign that Chinese domestic demand is picking up, another major step on the way to rebalancing the economy." (China Real Time)
— FILM —#
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire approved for China release.#
Since the Hunger Games series is all about living in an oppressive, totalitarian state, it will be interesting to see what the censors take out. (WSJ)
Jackie Chan and Fan Bingbing set to star in a film with Sean William Scott.#
The film will be in English, yet set in China, so it's likely that producers are pursuing the challenging task of targeting both Western and Chinese audiences. (Hollywood Reporter)
Nicolas Cage expresses his fondness for Chinese cinema on CCTV.#
After recently receiving his Huading Award, the American actor is going all in on the China market. (CCTV)
— FASHION —#
China remains bright spot for lagging Coach sales.#
The company is struggling in the West, but sales were up 35 percent for the quarter. (Forbes)
Swiss watch exports to China declined 3 percent in September.#
Numbers are still in decline while other luxury brand growth numbers pick up, showing that the anti-corruption crackdown is a larger factor than the economic slowdown in this case. (WWD)
China aids the "rebirth" of the department store.#
While some are saying they're "irrelevant" in the West, a spate of new locations have opened in China this year, including 10 Corso Como and Lane Crawford in Shanghai and Galeries Lafayette in Beijing. (WWD)
— LIFESTYLE —#
Twenty-four year old Zhejiang man buys first Tesla in China.#
"The all-electric luxury sedan had to be shipped to Dongyang from Tesla’s store on Hong Kong Island, as Tesla has not yet opened a store in mainland China." (Car Advice)
Luxury rental businesses are on the rise.#
"Two domestic e-commerce websites - one a startup and the other a veteran player - have launched luxury rental businesses in early July, making aspirational luxury items attainable, at a fraction of their hefty prices, for a week or two." (China Daily)
Why BMW is succeeding in China.#
What slowdown? According to one analyst, the luxury automaker's growth numbers may be "just the beginning" in China. (The Motley Fool)
Meet China's millionaire matchmakers.#
It looks like China would be a prime location for some pretty interesting reality TV. (Telegraph)
South Korean and Japanese casino operators plan new resort targeting Chinese tourists.#
Watch out, Australia and Macau: Paradise Group and Sega Sammy have teamed up to build a foreigners-only casino in Incheon. (Reuters)
— TECH —#
New survey finds that smartphone app use varies by city tier.#
WeChat is big in Shanghai and Beijing, but much less popular in second-tier cities. (Tech in Asia)