Week In Review: July 16-20, 2012

In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of July 16-20: The Battle Is On Between High-End & High Street Brands In China The debut of Abercrombie & Fitch in Hong Kong is quite interesting, as it reflects how major high street brands are, in some ways, outdoing luxury brands by taking over some very prominent locations in key cities. Another example in Hong Kong is Forever 21. According to the company, Forever 21, which opened its first Hong Kong store this January, is paying US$1.4 million per month — its highest rent in the world, both in total terms and per square foot. It even pays less in New York’s Times Square. With over 28 million mainland Chinese tourists passing through Hong Kong last year, many international brands (both luxury and high street) see Hong Kong as the gateway to China, and are now competing fiercely for every last yuan. Obstacles And Opportunities Arising For China’s Arts Institutions In recent years, China has seen the number of its state-run, provincial and private museums skyrocket, led by a government-led cultural push, competition among provinces to build prestige projects, and the whims of wealthy individual collectors. Currently, the country boasts a small, but important, set of institutions that are steadily improving in terms of curatorial acumen, management quality, and sourcing — among them the Ullens Center of Contemporary Art (UCCA) and Today Art Museum in Beijing, Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai, and Hong Kong’s planned M+ (slated to open in 2017). In an effort to stimulate greater interest in and exposure to the arts, by the end of this year all state-run and provincial museums will be open to the public. Louis Vuitton Pairs With Jiepang For "The Meaning Of Travel" Campaign To mark the brand’s 20th anniversary in the China market, the journey of the Louis Vuitton Express from Paris to Shanghai and its arrival on July 19, and the grand opening of the first LV Maison in mainland China at Plaza 66, this month Louis Vuitton has again partnered with Jiepang, the Chinese version of Foursquare. Running through the end of the month, the new Louis Vuitton Jiepang campaign, “The Meaning of Travel” (旅行的意義) encourages users to check in at any Louis Vuitton store in China, write a short post about what travel means to them on social media networks like Jiepang or Sina Weibo, then share with friends. Does Chinese Retailer Bosideng Have A Chance In London? Virtually unknown outside of its native country, where it operates over 10,000 retail outlets, on July 26 the Chinese retailer Bosideng is set to open its first overseas flagship in London, located on the city’s swish South Molton Street. A first for a Chinese clothing label of Bosideng’s size — though Chinese sportswear maker Li Ning opened a short-lived outpost in the US – the brand’s moves illustrate an interesting dynamic in the international world of fast fashion: As major international players like Zara, H&M and Uniqlo dig deeper into the mainland China market, mainland Chinese retail powerhouses have their sights set on expanding abroad. Indie Fashion Boutiques & Designers Band Together For Shanghai Pop-Up If there’s one development in the Chinese fashion world that we’ve felt couldn’t come quickly enough, it’s the growing number of independent multi-brand boutiques appearing in Shanghai and Beijing. Carrying designers otherwise unavailable in China and exposing local shoppers to some of the world’s most exciting and interesting new labels, these multi-brand stores play an important function in terms of raising brand awareness and cultivating a more savvy young consumer class, as well as giving up-and-coming local designers greater exposure.

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Week In Review: July 16-20, 2012