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 Italian luxury brand has appointed the singer and actress its China brand ambassador, it announced today.
Wu is a member of the South Korean-Chinese girl group Cosmic Girls, which currently boasts more than 24 million followers on Weibo. She is currently ranked by the social media platform as the mainland’s 44th most popular celebrity. Wu shot to fame after taking part in the hit competition show Produce 101.
Versace previously named actress Yang Mi its first Chinese face in 2019, but the two parted ways after one of the brand’s T-shirts appeared to imply Hong Kong and Macau were independent territories. Both Versace and its artistic creative Donatella Versace apologised soon after.
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.