In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of May 13-17:
What Do Changes In China’s Digital Landscape Mean For Luxury Brands?
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Incoming Alibaba CEO Jonathan Lu, who will be replacing Jack Ma.
With two of the largest online platforms in China announcing a $586 million deal last week, luxury brand professionals are left wondering what impact this new juggernaut might have on their efforts to acquire customers among China’s 560 million Internet users.
Last week, Alibaba.com Limited, the Internet giant that operates Taobao.com and Tmall.com, two of China’s largest e-commerce Web sites, announced that it had agreed to acquire an 18 percent stake in Sina Corp.’s Weibo.com, one of China’s leading microblog platforms, for $586 million in stock. Alibaba has the option to raise its stake to 30 percent.
Tom Ford, Ego, And DNA: A Conversation With Two Of China’s Best Luxury Strategists#
Speakers Lisa Chang (L) and Regina Lam (R) at the Bespoke Summit on May 16, 2013 at the Sydney Opera House. (Bespoke)
China was a headlining topic at the Bespoke Luxury Summit, held recently at the Sydney Opera House. Regina Lam, luxury brand strategist and founder of Couronne Management in Hong Kong; and Lisa Chang, creative director and founder of Angle Communications in Shanghai, were both flown in especially for the event. They sat down with our reporter Shuk-Wah Chungto discuss Tom Ford, egos, and getting your brand DNA right.
If you ask Regina Lam what her first impressions of China were, she’ll give you a dead straight answer: primitive.
“I first went to China in 1992 with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The first city I went to was Wuhan. You can imagine how primitive it was!” Lam laughs.
U.S. West Coast And Hawaii Aim To Boost Chinese Tourist Influx#
Hawaii recently created a new Chinese-language travel website.
As a wide spectrum of international tourism-associated businesses including hotels and retail shops adjust their services to cater to Chinese travelers, U.S. tourism boards are getting in on the action. Major Chinese tourist destinations including Los Angeles, Seattle, and Hawaii have all implemented new strategies to further encourage a substantial influx of high-spending Chinese visitors.
The city of Los Angeles, for example, recently opened its second tourism office in China after seeing a rapidly growing number of Chinese visitors. The office, located in Shanghai, hopes to encourage this trend.
Jing Daily Interview: Fan Bingbing’s Stylist Christopher Bu#
Pieces from Christopher Bu's collection. (Christopher Bu)
Days before leading Chinese actress and fashion icon Fan Bingbing attends the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where she will be honored by The Hollywood Reporter as International Artist of the Year, Jing Daily has a chat with Christopher Bu, Fan’s former stylist cum fashion designer responsible for some of her most attention-grabbing red carpet ensembles.
Prior to launching his eponymous label in 2011, Bu had already carved out a name for himself as a stylist to the stars, most notably Fan. Shortly after, Bu experienced a Jason Wu moment when Fan wore one of his couture creations, a dramatic red gown embroidered with white cranes, to the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
Ralph Lauren Gives Shanghai Clients VIP Treatment
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Chinese clients are treated to a private fashion show at Ralph Lauren Shanghai. (Affinity China)
In an April promotional event at Ralph Lauren’s Shanghai flagship store, Chinese guests were treated to wine, hors d’oeuvres, and an up-close fashion show as part of an increasingly common strategy among luxury brands to provide VIP experiences for their China clients.
According to the website of luxury experience company Affinity China, which planned the event, the store closed up shop in order to host 30 guests who were given a look at 13 new designs shown off by models, and the party concluded with a Ralph Lauren gift bag for each guest.