[ "China's Constant Flux" (The Business of Fashion)Opens in new window ]

"The notion of individual self-expression is still a relatively new concept in China. For decades, the government advocated exactly the opposite: a kind of extreme conformity designed to make everyone look and think the same … Whereas once consumers might have first looked at the label on a bag or article of clothing to ensure it came from a brand with respectable provenance that offered them social acceptance and status amongst their peers, they are now looking at the garment itself, asking: 'What does this say about me? Is this who I am?'"

"China Tops E-commerce Opportunity Study" (Women's Wear Daily)

"When it comes to market opportunity for e-commerce, China occupies the number-one position, followed by Japan, the U.S., the U.K. and South Korea, according to a new global e-commerce study by A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm. The Global Retail E-Commerce Index ranks the top countries in online retail, based on a 0 to 100 point scale. A.T. Kearney looked at 186 countries to determine the ranking of the top 30 countries."

"Luxury Giants Tap into Mainland Market" (China Daily)

"The flurry of major department or multi-brand store openings - including 10 by Corso Como, a cutting-edge Italian outfit that prides itself on a galvanizing mix of fashion, art and music - has dropped a stone into the otherwise ripple-free waters of the Chinese fashion market. The issue lying at the center of the ripples' concentric circles is the long-term profitability of these projects and whether they can live up to their status as retail meccas by attracting Chinese consumers long after the initial excitement has cooled."

"China Sales Lift Salvatore Ferragamo Profit, 4th Quarter Starts Well" (Reuters)

"Ferragamo said the Asia Pacific region remained its strongest market in terms of revenue, growing by 12 percent at constant exchange rates in the first nine months, and speeding up to 13 percent growth in the third quarter. The brand's directly-operated retail stores in China showed sales growth above 20 percent in the first nine months, shrugging off lower growth in luxury sales in the country which consultancy Bain & Co sees slowing to 2.5 percent this year from 20 percent last year."

"Analysts Hail China's Plan to Overhaul Economy" (The New York Times)

"If the initial summary of China’s highly anticipated economic policy plan disappointed analysts last week, the far more detailed plan that was released by the Chinese authorities late on Friday more than made up for it. The reaction among investors and analysts to the more than 21,000-character document that laid out the Chinese Communist Party’s decisions on how to overhaul the Chinese economy was overwhelmingly positive. 'The breadth of the reform plan has certainly exceeded most expectations,' commented Wang Tao, chief China economist at UBS."