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 December 19, 2013.#
1. China: This Week In Digital Luxury Marketing#
"A roundup of ongoing Christmas and Chinese New Year campaigns in China through December 31, featuring Lacoste, Lancôme, Coach, Ferrari, and Canon."
2. Luxury Brands Step Up Battle For Traveling Shoppers#
"Tourism spending is up 12 percent worldwide since January while spending by Chinese tourists in Europe is up closer to 20 percent, according to data from tax-refund company Global Blue."
[Reuters]
3. Gucci, Chanel, And ... Qeelin?#
"I have a Wulu around my neck. That's the Mandarin word for gourd, and a famous good-luck symbol in Asian culture roughly equivalent to the horseshoe in the West. I definitely do feel lucky today, because this particular wulu is inlaid with tiny, brilliant diamonds and retails for about $50,000 at Qeelin (pronounced KEE-lin), the Asian jewelry company now owned by French luxury giant Kering (formerly PPR)."
4. Armani Group To Develop Residential Project In China#
"Named 'Art Residence,' it will consist of two 65-story towers, located in the heart of Chengdu, next to the Jinjiang fashionable district. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2016."
[WWD]
5. Chinese Bodyguard Entrepreneur Sees Big Profits From Protection#
"China's newly wealthy are not generally targeted by criminals and kidnappers - as happens in countries such as Venezuela - but anger is growing about the widening gap between rich and poor. There have been isolated incidents of people attacking luxury cars involved in accidents with less well-off citizens. "
[Reuters]
6. How Do You Say Tesla In Chinese? Nobody Knows#
Tesla Motors
"The recently launched site has the same look and feel as the company’s American site, apart perhaps from the preponderance of red cars. The color is auspicious in China."
7. Shenzhen Biennale: Glowing Stairs And Metal-Free Bras Are The Chinese Dream#
"The reason is perhaps because the actual content of this biennial extravaganza is always doomed to play second fiddle to the commercial role it serves in the lucrative development of the city's fallow districts."
[Guardian]
8. Is Coach The Best Way To Profit From China's Growth?#
"A luxury leather designer and maker, Coach has more than 300 locations in Asia. But in the Asian market China is, by far, the most important for the growth plans of Coach. For the most recent quarter, Coach registered 40 percent growth in annual sales in China. For North America, it was only 1 percent annual growth. As a result, Coach is moving to greatly increase both its store and e-commerce presence in China."
[Benzinga]
9. Swiss Watch Exports Fall 0.5% In November#
"Exports to China plummeted 26.8 percent, while Hong Kong was down 6.5 percent and the United States posted a 2.5 percent decline. Germany registered a gain of 6.8 percent, Italy was up 5 percent and sales to France jumped 10 percent."
[WWD]
10. Small Is Beautiful As Chinese Investor Unveils £10m Plan For Micro Apartments
"A Liverpool city centre office building is to be converted into luxury micro-apartments in a £10m project funded by Hong Kong investors."
