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    Ahead of Singles’ Day, More than 22 Chinese E-Commerce Companies Were Called Out For Aggressive Discounting

    Ahead of Singles' Day, the government called out 22 E-commerce companies, addressing problems with counterfeits, product quality, and aggressive discounts.
    The called out companies include Pinduoduo, Meituan, Little Red Book, eleme, Yang Matou and more. Photo: shutterstock.com
    Ruonan ZhengAuthor
      Published   in News

    In Headlines From China, we share the biggest news stories about the luxury industry in China that have yet to make it into the English language. In this week’s edition, we discuss:

    • Ahead of Singles' Day, more than 22 e-commerce companies were called out for aggressive discounting
    • Chinese brand Bosideng launches high-end winter wear collection
    • Impacted by protests, Hong Kong retail sales fall 18.3%

    Ahead of Singles' Day, More Than 22 Chinese E-commerce Companies Were Called Out For Aggressive Discounting - cls.cn#

    As Singles' Day approaches on November 11, the Market Supervision Bureau of Shanghai met with 22 e-commerce companies to address problems with counterfeits, quality issues, and aggressive discounts. The government demanded that the e-commerce companies, including Pinduoduo, Meituan, Little Red Book, eleme, Yang Matou, and more to promote Singles' Day based on rules and regulations. As Singles' Day has become a war on discounts and promotions, Zhang Yong, the CEO of Alibaba (the company who invented this holiday), told analysts in a recent Q2 2020 financial report conference: “Other platforms are very aggressive on their promotions target towards vendors and consumers, spending an astonishing amount — up to 60% of revenue. We are capable to spend, but we choose not to react to competitors, and will spend only 15% of EBITA as our ongoing budget.”

    Chinese Brand Bosideng Launches High-end Winter Wear Collection - Sina#

    The Chinese down jacket company, Bosideng, recently launched a new mountain climbing collection. The seven winter jackets in the collection were named after the seven top mountains in the world, with pricing starting from 5,800 yuan to 11,800 yuan (roughly $830-$1,700). Many netizens joked that they can no longer afford this homegrown brand. According to data disclosed by the e-commerce company Suning, the average price of a winter jacket has been increasing. For Bosideng, the average price for autumn jacket used to range from 700-800 yuan, but now has climbed up to between 1,100 to 1,200 yuan.

    Photo: Shutterstock
    Photo: Shutterstock

    Impacted by protests, Hong Kong Retail sales fall 18.3% - Caixin#

    According to data released by the Hong Kong government, retail sales fell for eighth consecutive month down to $3.81 billion (HK$29.9 billion), 18.3% down from last year’s September performance. High-end jewelry and watch businesses were especially hit hard, dropping 40.5%; retail mall sales were down 25.6%; makeup and pharmacy were down 21.7%; and clothing was down 26.3%. According to Bloomberg, this is Hong Kong's worse slump since the global financial crisis in 2008, with the unstable political tension has pushed the city into a recession.

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