Monthly Archives: April 2019

Daigous, China’s personal shoppers who specialize in importing lower-priced luxury goods from the West, are witnessing a period of turmoil within their niche profession. The industry faced a “daigou crackdown” in Shanghai’s Pudong airport in September of 2018 and one Taobao daigou even received a ten-year jail sentence in November of that year, turning public opinion […]

Ruyi Group has been on a global shopping spree. Since 2010, it has been scooping up foreign brands and companies, perhaps hoping to become the Asian version of the LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton luxury conglomerate. This buying binge came with a hefty price tag of $4.6 billion but included strategic acquisitions like the French fashion […]

Who would have thought that Amazon would turn out to be an incubator for Chinese companies? This past winter, an Amazon down winter jacket took US fashionistas by storm. Made by the Chinese fashion label Orolay, this sleek puffy jacket has managed — in one cold short season — to wipe away any stereotypes associated […]

Many of China’s young luxury consumers seek experiences over products, which is why so many are choosing exotic vacations. But this doesn’t mean that physical products have become obsolete to this demographic — it means that brands need to create new experiences that attract and engage consumers. With brands becoming increasingly important, China’s hyper-informed young […]

China’s luxury spending sees no sign of cooling down in the coming years, McKinsey & Company stated in a new report released on April 26. It predicted that Chinese shoppers (both at home and abroad) would spend approximately $180 billion (1.2 trillion RMB) on luxury goods by 2025, accounting for 40 percent of the worldwide […]

In “Chinese Whispers,” 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: 1. French crystal brand Baccarat names a Chinese brand ambassador – Baccarat The high-profile French crystal brand Baccarat introduced its first-ever Chinese brand ambassador […]

Haute couture houses suffered during the first and second world wars from fabric limitations and financial instability. They lost their wealthiest American clients due to the Wall Street Crash in 1929. All those tragic events, combined with the ready-to-wear revolution, led to the disappearance of many famous names such as House of Worth, Paul Poiret, […]

“We found that Chinese online luxury consumers change even faster than traditional luxury consumers,” says Federica Marchionni, Secoo International CEO and Group CSO, who before joining Secoo, worked at such prestigious brands as Samsung, Dolce and Gabbana, and Ferrari. “To better serve brands and customers, Secoo is strategically shifting its focus to direct collaborations with […]

My Things- Book Keeping by Hong Hao. Hong is a Chinese artist famed for his maximalist works Foreword from the Editor: Minimalism is a popular artistic and cultural trend. Like the rise of Marie Kondo, it is one that comes and goes, much like denim jean shorts. Maximalism is a counter-reaction. Obviously, I work in […]

International luxury brands have reported stellar results thus far in 2019, and Hermès continued this upward trend with the release of its first-quarter results on April 25. While the market has given greater focus to giants in the industry, such as LVMH Moët Hennessy, Louis Vuitton (LVMH), and Kering, other brands that have pivoted to domestic […]