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.
The Beijing-based department store group has signed a contract with Wuhan’s government to build a new property in the city’s Wuchang district, set to open in two years, according to an official statement released by the Wuhan city government.
It will be SKP’s first store in central China and follows the luxury department store’s recent expansionary moves beyond its base in the capital, to Xi’an and Chengdu, with other projects also in development in Kunming, Hohhot and Hangzhou.
Retail sales of consumer goods in Wuhan rose 67.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, and GDP grew 58.4 percent, making it one of the top ten performing cities in China by these metrics (though off a low base, as the city was hard hit by lockdowns in the first quarter of 2020).
In 2020, Beijing SKP’s sales reached 17.7 billion yuan ($2.77 billion), making it China’s top luxury department store for the 10th consecutive year. Xi’an SKP, which opened in 2018, posted a 36 percent increase in sales last year.
International buyers and talent scouts must cast their nets wider than the usual fashion week incubators, prizes and schools to find the country’s next crop of emerging brands.
Chinese celebrities made a comeback at the European shows this season, but the brands hosting them see the country’s A-listers as more high-risk, high-reward than ever amid fresh scandals and tightening government regulation.
Owners of international brands like Lanvin and Carven faced challenges in their home market under ‘zero-Covid’ rules but China’s economic recovery is now on the horizon.
Critics say they are dystopian, but ‘flawless’ virtual influencers may be worth considering in a market where celebrity brand ambassadors have become an increasingly risky investment.