Are Luxury Retailers Ready For China's "Super Golden Week"?

National Day And Mid-Autumn Festival Combine To Push Expected Spending Spree China’s fall holiday season will raise the stakes for American travel, hospitality and retail sectors this year, due to the unusual confluence of two major holidays. The combination of the Mid-Autumn Lunar Festival holiday (September 30th) and the National Day Holiday from October 1st through October 7th will induce a larger-than-normal number of Chinese travelers to travel further afield and stay longer than in typical years. Chinese travel agencies are reporting stronger than usual bookings for the so-called “Super Golden Week,” posting price increases of 20 to 30 percent compared to non-holiday prices, and flights to many international destinations are already fully booked. The number of Chinese tourists traveling overseas is already on track to exceed 80 million visitors this year -- a more than 70 percent increase over the same period one year ago. It is expected that this number will increase to more than 100 million people by 2015. In 2011, Chinese overseas tourists spent US$72 billion -- and this number is expected to reach US$100 billion by at least 2015, if not sooner. 25 percent of global luxury purchases are made by Chinese customers (according to HSBC). Tourism from China to the United States is ramping up for a threefold increase. President Obama recently issued an executive order to accelerate visa approval for foreign citizens -- especially arrivals from China -- which is expected to add $850 billion to the US economy by 2020. With more than 50 percent of Chinese luxury purchases being made abroad -- and some brands harnessing up to 30 percent of their home country revenue from Chinese tourists -- engaging Chinese travelers has become an operational imperative for prestige brands. But just opening your door to Chinese tourists is not enough to build lasting customer relationships. Chinese customers have unique brand perceptions, travel habits, purchase preferences and service expectations. Companies need to completely rethink their branding, marketing and selling strategies to serve this emerging customer. To help retailers and service providers prepare for the influx of customers, China Luxury Advisors and Jing Daily will launch their first event in a series of training workshops designed to help retailers, hospitality, attractions, non-profits and destinations create high ROI solutions for the rapidly growing global Chinese consumer. The first training session will be held in New York on September 27, 2012 at 8am . The Workshop is entitled: "Closing the Deal – In-Store Promotions and Sales Tactics Create High ROI." This training session will focus on creating short-term in-store results in advance of the upcoming “Super Golden Week” by enhancing understanding of Chinese shopping mentality, reviewing industry best practices and providing tactical in-store promotions and sales training to increase conversion rates and average transactions during the October National Holiday and beyond. The workshop will be conducted in a small group format at AW Asia, which showcases one of the premier collections of contemporary Chinese art. The workshop includes breakfast and coffee. For information on the event visit http://breakfastbriefings.eventbrite.com/. For those who cannot attend the workshops, China Luxury Advisors and Jing Daily will release a series of training reports over the next year to provide retailers, brands, hospitality and others with smart strategies and tactical solutions to attract, convert and retain Chinese customers. Scheduled Breakfast Briefings Include: September 27, 2012: Closing the Deal – In-Store Promotions and Sales Tactics Create High ROI. This training session will focus on creating short-term in store results in advance of the upcoming “Super Golden Week” by enhancing understanding of Chinese shopping mentality, reviewing industry best practices and providing tactical in-store promotions and sales training to increase conversion rates and average transactions during the October National Holiday and beyond. October 24, 2012: Chinese Travel Media. As the global impact of the Chinese tourist grows, so does the number of media channels targeting this lucrative consumer group. Chinese media operate differently than in most other countries, with low levels of transparency and high advertising rates. CLA will proﬁle top travel media, reach and suggested methods for working with key media. December 5, 2012: Sightseeing for Chinese Tourists. Targeted towards the needs of museums, attractions, hotels, non-proﬁts, government agencies and other stops on the Chinese sightseeing agenda. Learn top attractions for Chinese tourists, review case studies of success among top sightseeing attractions, review signage and localization of information and other practical tips for raising trafﬁc and improving customer satisfaction. For more information or to register for the conference, please visit http://breakfastbriefings.eventbrite.com/.

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Are Luxury Retailers Ready For China's "Super Golden Week"?