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 rose 12.4 percent in May, according to data released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), missing expectations in spite of a bid to boost spending, particularly around the Labour Day holiday at the beginning of May.
Analysts had expected retail sales to rise 13.6 percent in May from a year ago, when China was beginning its re-opening from lockdowns and restrictions imposed during its initial battle with Covid-19. May 2021 retail sales came in 9.3 percent higher than the same month in 2019, prior to the pandemic.
Consumer spending has lagged China’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. In April, retail sales also climbed lower than analysts expected, rising 17.7 percent year-on-year.
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.