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 January 10-14:
Revived Chinese Brand Shanghai VIVE Takes On Luxury Cosmetics Market
In the international market, “European-made” is synonymous with luxury goods, while “Made in China” still makes consumers think of cheap products. It’s still very difficult to associate China with luxury goods. “In the minds of many people, luxury brands are always linked with Europe. The idea of an Asian luxury brand is still unthinkable,” said Gucci president Patrizio di Marco. This is a key concern that many have about Shanghai VIVE.
Shanghai Jahwa has apparently long been aware of this. It has cleverly circumvented the biases of consumers, replacing “Made in China” with “Made in Shanghai.” By making Shanghai — an international metropolis — its clear home base, Shanghai VIVE has been able to co-opt the Shanghai “brand” more easily. Through deliberate geographical association, Shanghai Jahwa is forging a unique local brand.
Starbucks Opens “Venti”-Sized Location In Xiamen, Largest In Mainland China
Starbucks, which currently operates around 500 locations throughout mainland China (a number the company hopes to triple by 2015), has been on a major offensive in recent years to bag millions more coffee converts in the homeland of green tea, with efforts focused mainly on the country’s roughly 200 million middle-class consumers. Like other foreign companies looking to temper their red-hot expansion and appeal to a broader audience by incorporating more “Chinese-ness” into their products, last year Starbucks made moves to source more coffee beans from China after creating its first China-grown blend in 2009 and following intensive research into the growing conditions of the country’s southwestern Yunnan province, an area traditionally known for its pu’erh tea.
No word on how many of its beans will be “home-grown,” but this week Starbucks opened its largest mainland China location in Xiamen, Fujian province. According to China Retail News, the 400-square-meter, four-story flagship features design aspects and special products that play to the strong influence of China’s tea culture in Fujian, along with decor inspired by old Xiamen.
Trendwatch: Pop-Up Shops in Mainland China
Temporary retail spaces have been a popular trend state-side for quite a while, with big brands using them to promote new collections and collaborations or small scenes of selectively curated items. With more mainland Chinese consumers becoming not only big spenders but also fashionable, edgy and stylish in their own right, pop-up shops are appearing in China to generate excitement around new products and introduce new labels to the country’s shoppers.
Nouveau Riche, a pop-up store in Beijing’s Sanlitun Village, had an opening party last night and will run until February 5. A collaboration between Shumeng Ye, a Chinese-Finnish designer, and her group of friends, Nouveau Riche aims to bring a collection of affordable and unique items, created exclusively for the pop-up.
Hurun Report Releases “Best of the Best” for 2011
Today, The Hurun Report, a luxury research unit and publishing group, released their 6th annual research findings of the brand awareness and preferences, consumption habits and lifestyle trends of China’s highest net worth individuals. Surveying 401 mainland Chinese millionaires, the average age being 39 for those worth RMB 10 million and 42 for those worth RMB 1 billion, respondents were asked to pick out their ‘Preferred Brand’ from a list of brands sorted by category.
It’s no surprise that many Mainland Chinese millionaires still prefer Western brands, with Beyond Brics noting that Louis Vuitton was awarded top overall and best for jewellery, followed by Armani for best fashion brand. Last year’s report showed low brand recognition for yachts and private jets, though 50% of respondents said they were looking to buy a yacht in the future and 15% looking to buy private jets. This year, brand recognition in those categories was likely increased, as Azimut was awarded best yacht and Bombardier, best private jet.
2011 Trend Watch: How Far Will Countries Go To Court Chinese Spenders?
In the United Kingdom, Chinese tourists have become some of the largest spenders on the London high street. Last week, the British media coined the phrase “Peking Pound” to describe the extravagant spending of Chinese tourists, with the British Daily Mail reporting that Chinese tourist-shoppers were expected to spend a billion pounds on luxury goods at holiday sales. The Daily Mail article described many stores on the West End as having hired Mandarin-speaking assistants to cater to Chinese tourists, adding that Selfridges now accepts China UnionPay cards, the only domestic credit card currently issued by Chinese banks.
In the frenzy of the post-Christmas sales in London, onlookers described the scene as the “great mall of China.” Taking China’s steep import taxes into account, luxury goods purchased in Britain are 20-30 percent cheaper than they are domestically. Considering London’s status as an acknowledged fashion capital, it has become a natural shopping destination for Chinese tourists.