Fashion

Chinese Whispers: JD.com Refutes Layoff-related Employee Suicide Rumor, and More

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: A social media rumor of a JD.com employee’s suicide,Vipshop‘s faltering business, andA Chinese buyer acquired LK Bennett. 1. JD.com denies that an employee’s suicide was related to the company’s recent mass layoffs – Sohu It’s no exaggeration to say that JD.com, China’s second-largest e-commerce…

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Fashion

LVMH Reports Strong First Quarter Despite Slowing Economy

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) reported its Q1 2019 financial results on April 11, and the results should ease concerns about a slowing luxury market in China. The company’s shares climbed to record highs after posting strong first-quarter sales, thanks primarily to growth within mainland China. Luxury brands have seen mixed results over the last year due to concerns about the slowing Chinese market and other world economies, which has led many brands to…

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Fashion

The New Retail: Today’s China is Tomorrow’s America

While the U.S. enters a retail crisis, new ideas in China are busy transforming global consumer culture. So to understand the future of the American consumer, we must look at what China already has on offer. There is a dominant narrative among Western diplomats that Chinese soft power is the real, final frontier for Chinese world domination. Previous models show that the enduring power of a country’s great economic boom lies in the success of…

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Fashion

China’s Next Hot Travel Market: Customized Luxury Tours

This story was first published on our sister site, Jing Travel. Chinese tourists have been ditching group tours at a rapid pace, and custom-tour operators are reaping the benefits of this booming tourism industry segment. Now that most of these travelers are seasoned, they’re starting to seek unique experiences, and most of them have the adventurous nature and significant disposable income needed to partake in these high-end tours. But there is one traveler demographic within…

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Fashion

The Purchasing Power of the Only Child

It was time to return the third sofa and look for an alternative, the patient told birth order expert Dr. Kevin Leman. I just can’t overlook that the plaid patterns don’t align at all the seams, he told the doctor — the mismatch caught his eye every time he sat down. That patient, notes Leman, was an only child, and his OCD-like approach to buying furniture was typical of his ilk. “The psyche of the…

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Fashion

The Commercial Opportunity of Gender Fluidity

The global rise of gender fluidity indicates a growing desire to embrace personal exploration beyond the narrow identity codes of masculinity and femininity. Led by independent Chinese designers like Feng Chen Wang, Sankuanz, and Angel Chen, this emerging sentiment has increasingly allowed sexuality to be approached in fashion with a new type of individuality. Today, toxic masculinity or passive femininity can be replaced with new types of roles: sensitive men or strong women. This has…

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Fashion

WeChat Readers’ Habits Vary Greatly Among Demographics

What do brands need to understand when marketing experts say having a WeChat account is not enough in China? Due to the increasingly saturated WeChat media environment, simply having a WeChat account isn’t enough to generate interest, according to the latest report from Chinese big data service provider Quest Mobile, which mined data from hundreds of WeChat users’ accounts. The data shows that a nuanced strategy is necessary, particularly as habits vary significantly among the…

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Fashion

How Chinese Influencers Calculate Their Fees

Influencer marketing is considered an essential component of luxury marketing in China, but to many brands’ surprise, influencer marketing isn’t cheap and can actually be more expensive than the same service in the West. On top of that, it can be hard to know if you’ve been quoted a fair price since new platforms and types of content are constantly emerging. While there are a number of websites and resources that list average influencer prices…

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Fashion

Chinese Whispers: Burberry’s Store Closing “Drama,” and More

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: Burberry‘s store closures in Shanghai,Prada‘s retail price reductions, andFosun Fashion Group‘s possible IPO. 1. Burberry’s recent store closings in Shanghai raise questions – No Fashion & Jiemian As Burberry is undergoing a major brand transformation, the British high fashion brand’s every move in China…

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Fashion

In Asia, the Future of Luxury is Here, and It Is Online

The first Future of Luxury: Ecommerce in Asia conference, hosted in Hong Kong by Sotheby’s and Jing Daily, brought together industry thought leaders from around the globe to examine Asia’s soaring ecommerce market, identify trends and place a few bets on the future direction of the luxury sector. Here are 10 key takeaways. 1 “Luxury starts with a great product, but must also serve the consumer” – Josh Pullan, Deputy Managing Director, Global Jewelry & Watches, Sotheby’s. Customers want both…

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