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.
"As Beijing Becomes a Supercity, the Rapid Growth Brings Pains" (The New York Times)
"The planned megalopolis, a metropolitan area that would be about six times the size of New York's, is meant to revamp northern China's economy and become a laboratory for modern urban growth."
"Asia Slowdown Hits Burberry Sales" (The Financial Times)
"A decline in the number of shoppers from mainland China travelling to Hong Kong to buy luxury goods has continued to be a drag on Burberry, the British retailer best known for its trenchcoats and cashmere scarves."
"JD.Com Launches Online Store to Sell US Brands in China" (Reuters)
"JD.com Inc said it would start selling US products to customers in China through a new store on its website, as it looks to battle competition from bigger rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd."
"Alibaba, Unilever Announce Partnership to Reach Chinese Consumers" (Reuters)
"Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd announced on Sunday that it had signed a strategic partnership agreement with Unilever NV to help the consumer products group reach more Chinese shoppers."
"Hong Kong Sees Deeper Retail Rent Cut as Global Brands Cool Off" (Yahoo Finance)
"Rents are expected to fall as much as 40 percent this year in Hong Kong's bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay, until recently the world's most expensive retail street, hit by a slowdown in visitors, particularly cash-rich mainland Chinese."
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.