Welcome to Jing Daily‘s Weekend Sound Bites: a rundown of what industry influencers were saying about the week’s top stories on the business of luxury and culture in China.#
—FRIDAY, 7/11 —#
“As we expand into secondary, tertiary markets in China, it makes more economic sense to build more select-service hotels.”
-Matthew Fry, senior vice-president of acquisitions and development for the Asia branch of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. on the company’s plans to double the number of hotels in China over the next four years. (Bloomberg)
—THURSDAY, 7/10 —#
"Auto finance looks attractive to consumers that are younger and better aware of international trends."
-Cao Xiang, general manager at BMW and Mini dealer Shanghai Fande Automotive Co., regarding the rising trend of car buyers opting to take out auto loans instead of placing down cash upfront. (WSJ)
—WEDNESDAY, 7/9 —#
“In China, travel is very much linked with urbanisation. When cities become bigger and they become richer, you have an explosive growth of the number of people from these cities that want to discover the outside world.”
-Philippe Schaus, chairman and chief executive of duty-free retailer DFS, commenting on the link between the rise of Chinese tourism and China’s rapid economic growth. (Business of Fashion)
— TUESDAY, 7/8 —#
"We are approaching a new era of ethically responsible design and action. We can see this working its way into the social superhero trend."
-Greer Hughes, a trend specialist at global fashion research company WGSN, regarding the new trend of fashion designers looking to incorporate political activism and social responsibility into their clothing designs seen at Hong Kong Fashion Week. (SCMP)
— MONDAY, 7/7 —#
"The value of trade between China and Germany at the moment is $200-bn, an astonishing figure. It's a sort of relationship that the rest of Europe must regard with envy."
-Adrian Brown, Al Jazeera correspondent, on German chancellor Angela Merkel’s arrival into China for her seventh visit since 2005. (Al Jazeera)