Jing Daily’s Top Posts For The Week#
In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of August 2-6:
Geely Completes Volvo Acquisition: What Next?
Ford’s closely-watched deal to sell the beleaguered Swedish auto brand Volvo has finally gone through, following months of final negotiations and management shakeups, the Associated Press reports today. Jing Daily has kept a close eye on this story since speculation first surfaced last year, noting that the $1.5 billion purchase of Volvo by Geely, a Chinese automaker known more at home for inexpensive, entry level models like its QQ rather than world-class luxury vehicles, presents the company with major global challenges in addition to opportunities.
Private Museum Summit Held In Beijing To Discuss Regulation
An interesting development in the Chinese art world over the past several years has been the rapid growth of private collection (which we’ve covered extensively) and the creation of private museums by some contemporary or traditional art “super-collectors.” From Guan Yi’s contemporary art “warehouse” to the mixed contemporary/revolutionary art museum planned by Wang Wei and Liu Yiqian, many of China’s top collectors have some plan or another to open their own museums.
However, the Chinese government’s lack of clarity regarding the establishment and regulation of private museums has caused a great deal of confusion among some in the Chinese museum world. In the hopes of clearing up this confusion, the “Private Museum Summit” was recently held in Beijing.
Who Are China’s Fast Fashion Contenders?
While the buzzword “fast fashion” may be somewhat new to the China market, fast fashion itself has been around in some form or another for the past few decades, mostly in the form of low-priced items of questionable quality sold at street-side outdoor markets. In recent years, however, home-grown mass market brands like Metersbonwe and online retailer Vancl have emerged as China’s top fast fashion contenders, even as foreign retailers like H&M, Zara, Uniqlo and others have plowed their way into the already crowded market.
In response to the success of H&M and Zara in the Chinese market, some Chinese fast fashion retailers have stepped up to the challenge by launching new, somewhat more “upscale” brands to woo consumers who find the allure (and affordability, relative to imported luxury brands) of foreign brands irresistible. In late 2008, Metersbonwe debuted its ME&CITY brand, targeting middle class, twenty- to thirty-something white collar professionals and signing celebrities like Wentworth Miller of “Prison Break” (arguably a bigger star in China than in his native United States), actor Orlando Bloom and model Agyness Deyn for ad campaigns.
Shanghai Tang Collaborates With LUXE City Guides On “White Tiger Chest”
Collaborations between Chinese designers and international brands continue to gain steam, as this week it was announced that Shanghai Tang has collaborated with LUXE City Guides — specialists in global guides for jet-setting luxury travelers — on a limited-edition “White Tiger Chest” box set. Limited to a run of 70 individually numbered maple and ebony veneer boxes, the White Tiger Chest includes 30 LUXE City Guides and retails for a cool $1,500.
Reflecting Shanghai Tang’s mission of combining the best of Chinese design with a modern edge, the White Tiger Chest is lined with fine kumquat silk and features an exterior finished in high-gloss Chinese lacquer, along with an enamel lock escutcheon featuring the Chinese character for “Tiger.”
Is China’s Private Jet Industry Set To Take Off?
Now that astronomically priced cars and villas are the norm for China’s sliver of ultra HNWIs, they’re increasingly looking to the skies for their next major purchase — a private jet. However, even among China’s wealthiest individuals private jets are a rare luxury. According to recent estimates, there are only anywhere from 100-200 private jets in the Chinese mainland, most of which are actually flying illegally, as only about 30 are actually registered. Compare that to the more than 11,000 in the United States. With figures like these, it’s no surprise private jet makers are struggling to contain their enthusiasm for the mainland China market.
But this doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. As the Global Times recently pointed out, in mainland China there are a number of regulations in China for flying a private jet: an airworthiness license for the plane issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, a valid pilot license and a flight plan approved by the military and civil aviation administration. While this sounds pretty run-of-the-mill, the reality is much more complicated. Earlier this month, a China Economic Review article noted that “low” airspace (less than 30,000 feet) is tightly controlled by the military, which isn’t terribly supportive of the idea of loosening its grip any time soon. As such, many wealthy individuals in China are taking an “I bought it and I can fly it” approach with their private aircraft, shirking the regulations and jetting around the country illegally.