Week In Review: April 22-26, 2013

In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of April 22-26: China Gives First-Quarter Boost To Slowing Hermès Growth Chinese shoppers wait outside an Hermès store in Hong Kong. (Bon Brand) In the midst of a global economic slowdown and unfavorable currency effects in Europe, French luxury goods company Hermès reported today that China’s market was its most dynamic area of growth in its 2013 first-quarter report. As with many other luxury brands this year, the company’s worldwide market as a whole is not growing as quickly as it was last year. The Wall Street Journal reported that the label’s overall 10 percent rise in sales compared with last year marked its slowest pace of growth since 2009. However, non-Japan Asia (including China, Macau, and Taiwan) saw a 17 percent increase, making it the company’s highest region of growth by a margin of 6 percent. This number was brought down by a dip in Chinese demand for watches, which has been significantly lower for luxury brands across the board. China Sends Mixed Messages On Foreign Films American-Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, center, presents the best actress award to Chinese actress Yan Bingyan, left, as Hong Kong director John Woo, right, looks on during the award ceremony for the Beijing Film Festival in Beijing on April 23, 2013. A warm sense of cooperation between foreign and Chinese film companies permeated the events of this weekend’s third annual Beijing International Film Festival, an event designed to demonstrate China’s increasing openness to the international film market. This sentiment was especially strong at the festival’s Sino-Foreign Film Co-production Forum, where actor Keanu Reeves joined in festivities that included the symbolic signing of a French-Chinese co-production deal and an artist handprint ceremony. Meanwhile, a Chinese TV network used the festival to publicly cast Chinese roles for the upcoming Hollywood film Transformers 4, which is likely to apply for the coveted position of a Hollywood-China co-production. Strategy Note: Chinese Summer Tourism Is Crucial For Luxury Brands Chinese tourists shopping in Paris. (zoetnet/Flickr) It’s not surprising that global luxury brand managers have started paying closer attention to the spendy Chinese travelers hitting their retail doors in Europe and America. After all, China’s tourists outspent the perennial global leaders from Germany in 2012, dropping a total of US$102 billion on overseas trips compared to just US$84 billion by their German counterparts. Couple this with the fact that Chinese are now the #1 purchasers of luxury goods worldwide, with more than 60 percent of this spending occurring outside of China. At Shanghai Auto Show, Luxury Gets More Competitive BMW premieres its X4 model. (BMW) This week, Chinese consumers are flocking to the highly anticipated Shanghai Auto Show, where carmakers vie for their attention in a growing yet increasingly crowded market. Judging from the new models unveiled at the show, mainstream luxe brands are buckling up for a year of intense competition as growth slows and more brands strive for increased market share. Audi currently holds the top spot for mainstream luxury auto sales in China, but competitors BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Cadillac are all eagerly eyeing the pole position. Although China’s luxury auto market is expected to remain on an upward swing until 2020 – at which point it will have more than doubled — this year is expected to bring lower growth numbers than 2012. As a result, companies hoping to stake a claim in the burgeoning market face a greater challenge this year. China: The Week In Digital Luxury Marketing Coach's promotional wallpaper design. (Coach) A roundup of new and ongoing digital campaigns launched by luxury brands in China through April 23, 2013, featuring Givenchy Cosmetics, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Maserati, Chow Tai Fook Jewlery, Coach, and Sephora and Guerlain.

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Week In Review: April 22-26, 2013