The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
"In China, Showrooms Blossom" (The Business of Fashion)
"The wholesale business is finally getting more organised in China, encouraging the growth of a more robust domestic distribution network."
"As Growth Slows, China Pins Hopes on Consumer Spending" (The New York Times)
"As demand for exports slips and the real estate sector cools, China has been looking to consumers to help pick up the slack. But the country's slowing growth will complicate those plans."
"The World's Luxury Fashion Houses — Including Ermenegildo Zegna — Are Heading to China" (The Independent)
"China is the most important market for luxury fashion in the world. Which is why Stefano Pilati, the Berlin-based designer of Italian menswear behemoth Ermenegildo Zegna, chose to show his latest endeavour there, in a neat fusion of creativity and commerce."
"China Allows Full Foreign Ownership of E-commerce Firms in Shanghai" (Reuters)
"China has allowed foreign investors to fully own e-commerce companies in Shanghai's free trade zone as part of a pilot scheme."
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"Hong Kong Luxury Watch Retailers Face SNB Blow" (Bloomberg)
"The franc's record surge may prompt luxury watch retailers in Hong Kong to absorb some of the price increase from Switzerland's high-end timepiece makers as demand stays weak amid a slowing Chinese economy."
"Alibaba Moves to Help US Retailers Court Chinese Consumers" (Reuters)
"China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd plans a major move to win U.S. business this year, by offering American retailers new ways to sell to China's vast and growing middle class."
With consumers tightening their belts in China, the battle between global fast fashion brands and local high street giants has intensified.
Investors are bracing for a steep slowdown in luxury sales when luxury companies report their first quarter results, reflecting lacklustre Chinese demand.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.
Post-Covid spend by US tourists in Europe has surged past 2019 levels. Chinese travellers, by contrast, have largely favoured domestic and regional destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.