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.
China’s retail sales grew only 2.5 percent in August year-on-year, impacted by the country’s dealing with outbreaks of Covid-19 over the summer months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This rate of growth comes in well below the 7 percent forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll and much lower than the 8.5 percent growth seen in July.
Mainland China had controlled a late July outbreak of the highly contagious delta variant by mid-August, but under Beijing’s “zero tolerance” policy, that containment came at the cost of restricting travel and local lockdowns in some places during a significant portion of the summer holidays.
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How Concerned Should Fashion Be About Chinese Stagflation?
China’s producer price inflation has been impacting the cost of sourcing. Now, fashion brands are also bracing for broader economic pressures that may lead consumers to tighten their belts.
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.
While travel to Europe remains muted, Chinese shoppers are flocking to Singapore, Thailand and other Southeast Asian destinations where fashion retailers are hoping Lunar New Year marketing investments will pay off.
Local fashion designers experimenting with puffers and other down clothing have scored collaborations with outerwear companies like Moncler and attracted the attention of prominent international retailers like H.Lorenzo.