NININ, one of the exhibits at Luxury China 2014, provides luxury cell phone customizations complete with gold and jewels. (Luxury China Zhenwei) At the recent Luxury China 2014 exhibition (北国际顶级生活品牌 [奢侈品] 博览会) held at the Beijing Exhibition Center from July 4 to 6, the key consumer trend of the event was “bespoke” as the desire for personalized luxury grows in China, according to Chinese media. The exhibition attracted many international luxury brands, whose booths showed off their willingness to accommodate Chinese consumers’ increasing desire to make luxury truly their own. The exhibition attracted over 300 different brands from over 20 countries, including Italy, France, and the UK. Categories include limousines, yachts, real estate, apparel, and jewelry, and even immigration services. The event was organized by the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) and Zhenwei Exhibition Group, with an estimated 50,000 attendees. An image from Luxury China 2014. (China News) According to Chinese paper China Times, international brands realize that Chinese luxury consumers have become more discerning buyers. Alessandro Chili, one of the exhibit’s Italian segment organizers, believes that Chinese consumers are now paying greater attention to the material of the product, and are no longer just logo chasers. Personalization is one of Chinese luxury consumers’ most sought-after services, according to China Times. At the exhibition, many brands had signs out stating that they are able to customize their products to individual tastes. One such booth advertised a company’s service to inlay jewels into high-end phones. Wu Weisen, the company’s marketing manager, predicts a greater trend of demand for personalization of luxury goods, saying that brands have yet to provide the level of customization that consumers truly desire and that this area of bespoke luxury has a lot of potential.
