Market Updates
China’s online retail sales expand in first 2 months
China’s online retail sales logged steady growth in the first two months of 2024, with a total of 2.15 trillion yuan (about 303 billion U.S. dollars), up 15.3 percent year on year. Online retail sales of physical goods nationwide rose 14.4 percent year on year to 1.82 trillion yuan, contributing 22.4 percent to China’s total retail sales of consumer goods.
Tourism rebounds during Qingming Festival Holidays, signals great potential
During the Qingming Festival, a total of 5.189 million passenger trips were recorded across Chinese border ports, an increase of 69.6 percent year-on-year. Among them, foreigners made 500,000 passenger trips, marking a significant increase of 163.2 percent compared to last year amid a series of measures to facilitate entry of foreign nationals.
China’s Q1 GDP growth tops forecasts on policy support
China’s economy grew faster-than-expected in the first quarter, data showed on April 16, offering some relief to officials as they try to shore up growth in the face of protracted weakness in the property sector and mounting local government debt. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.3% in January-March from the year earlier, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Digital
AI PlayStation 2 filter fuels NPC frenzy in China
As China’s obsession with NPC characters swells, a new AI-generated trend of PS2 filter is flooding social media across China. Deploying the AI program Replicate (a tool that uses machine-learning solution Stable Diffusion), users have been transforming both themselves and popular album covers into the PS2-inspired graphics. On RED, there are currently over 3.5 million posts dedicated to users reimagining themselves as PS2 characters.
Cartier’s Trinity Ring arrives in virtual form at Snapchat
The luxury jewelry Maison, Cartier’s latest debut is a new virtual Snapchat try-on celebrating the 100th anniversary of its signature Trinity ring, which brings this universal icon to life in augmented reality, and allow everyone to join the celebration using multiple Snap technologies for hand tracking and light reflection.
Fashion
Disney showcases at Shanghai Fashion Week
Disney collaborates with 8 independent Chinese designer brands to showcase at the 2024AW Shanghai Fashion Week. The designers drew inspiration from Mickey and Friends and presented a fashion show themed “Disney Re:imagined.”
H&M x SHFW to showcase Chinese designers
H&M has announced its upcoming deep collaboration with Shanghai Fashion Week, with plans to launch a brand new collaboration series with Chinese designers within 2024, showcasing the cutting-edge power of local fashion design. This series is scheduled to be released during the Shanghai Fashion Week in autumn 2024.
Nike to collaborate with Jay Chou’s personal brand PHANTACi
Nike will launch a co-branding collection with Jay Chou’s personal brand, PHANTACi. In 2009, the two parties collaborated to create the PHANTACi x Nike Air Max 1 “Grand Piano.” Jay is one of the most renowned singers in the Mandarin-speaking world.
Ami holds 2024AW fashion show in Suzhou
Ami held its 2024AW men’s and women’s fashion show in Suzhou. This is the brand’s second fashion show held in China following the Shanghai Fashion Show in 2019.
Christian Louboutin announces Yang Mi as a brand spokesperson
On April 12, Christian Louboutin announced that Yang Mi (杨幂) would be its brand spokesperson. Yang is an extremely popular actress with 112 million followers on Weibo.
Louis Vuitton holds Voyager Pre-Fall show in Shanghai
On April 18, Louis Vuitton held its 2024 Voyager Pre-Fall show at the Long Museum in Shanghai. Following the event, the brand conducted its first-ever live preview of the collection on RED, which garnered over 470,000 views, breaking the record for live viewership of a luxury brand on the platform.
Jack Wolfskin announces Karen Mok as brand spokesperson
On April 22, Jack Wolfskin announced that Karen Mok would be serving as its brand spokesperson. Karen is a renowned singer and actress with 15 million followers on Weibo.
Watches & Jewelry
Fred announced Zhang Tian’ai as brand ambassador in China Fred announced Zhang Tian’ai (张天爱) as the brand ambassador for the Chinese market on March 23. Zhang Tian’ai is a popular actress with 18 million followers on Weibo.
Hublot announces Yu Shi as brand ambassador
On April 9, Hublot announced Yu Shi (于适) as a brand ambassador. Yu is a young and popular actor with 3.4 million followers on Weibo.
New Openings and Launches
Jordan Brand opens a “World of Flight” flagship store in Beijing
Delvaux holds an art exhibition at the Gold Ball space in Hong Kong’s K11 Musea
Valentino holds a Family Feast in Quanzhou in collaboration with Shang Cheng Shi magazine
Prada holds the exhibition “Michaël Borremans: The Promise” at Rong Zhai
Prada Qingdao Hisense Olympics store reopens with a new look
Hublot officially joins Tmall Luxury Pavilion
D.Desirable, Dylan Wang’s personal brand, opens in Shanghai
Lululemon launches a collection in collaboration with Zhou Guanyu
Michael Kors opens a limited-time offline bakery in Shanghai
Louis Vuitton is set to open a new store at Times Square in Hong Kong
UGG x Shuting Qiu collection launches
Victoria’s Secret unveils its first art space in Shanghai
Lanvin reopens its boutique at Plaza 66 in Shanghai
