This year, however, the calendar of upscale events is starting a little earlier – evidence perhaps of the increasing competition for consumer attention in China’s key metropolitan markets.

A couple of weeks back, Nike was spotted outside a shopping mall in Shanghai’s Xujiahui district using a street painter to carve the company’s new China campaign murals onto a sidewalk. He got plenty of attention. And the luxury brands have also been pro-active, with today representing a benchmark starting point for the concerted 2007 pre-China National Day (a weeklong holiday celebrated in the first week of October) consumer awareness push.

Hamburg-based Mont Blanc, which arrived first in China in 1992 and now has more than 100 retail stores nationwide, hosted its annual global executive meeting this week in Shanghai for the first time. At the four-day gathering the company announced the opening of its largest global flagship store in November on Shanghai’s Nanjing Road. This will, however, be superseded by an even bigger store to open in Beijing before next year’s Olympics.

“China is now so hot in the luxury industry, and we have worked hard to establish our position as a respected status brand,” said Ingrid Roosen-Trinks, Mont Blanc’s Director of International Cultural Affairs. “It’s important for us to have a lot of visibility, so we can diversify our product offerings in the market.”

Meanwhile Paris-based luxury crystal brand Baccarat is approaching China more slowly. “We have a total of five stores in mainland China – three in Beijing and two in Shanghai – plus four in Hong Kong,” said Oriane Yun Hong, General Manager of Baccarat Pacific. “We want our business to grow slowly here.”

This evening, at the Shanghai Times Square shopping mall, Baccarat opened the Intangible exhibition, showcasing a specially commissioned collection of vases, barware and candlesticks by Israeli-born conceptual designer Arik Levy. The show, which has previously been shown in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo, will run for 12 days.

These two events will undoubtedly be the forerunners for a packed Autumn season of luxury brand events in China, as foreign retailers accelerate their strategies to loosen the purse strings of China’s increasingly affluent urban elites. China currently accounts for around 11 per cent of the world’s luxury goods market, but that could be just the beginning. As urban incomes rise, rapid growth is projected. Goldman Sachs predicts that Chinese consumers – purchasing at home and abroad – will account for 29 per cent of global luxury goods sales by 2015, overtaking Japan as the world’s number one luxury market.

Last update : Friday, 31 August 2007

Keywords : Hotel, Restaurant, Bar, Opening, Autumn, Luxury

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