The China Luxury Briefing is a weekly newsletter from The Luxury Conversation. You’ll receive a weekly bulletin of latest China luxury news across different sectors. Below you’ll find a monthly roundup including updates from each of the weekly briefings during the month. To ensure you’re receiving all of the latest China luxury updates, make sure to sign up for the weekly newsletter here.
FASHION
30 luxury brands launch new collections to welcome the Year of Rabbit
30 luxury brands have launched new collections celebrating the upcoming Year of Rabbit. These include Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Gucci, Dior and Valentino.
LV x YayoiKusama time-limited show in Chengdu
On 4 January 2023, LV x Yayoikusama (草间弥生) landed a series of shows in Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu (成都远洋太古里), which will last until the end of January. With elements of Polka dots and pumpkins , the shows have four main topics, namely Hand-painted dots (手绘波点), metal dots (金属波点), infinite dots (无限波点) and psychedelic flowers (迷幻花朵) respectively.
Burberry opens pop-up boutique in Chongli
On 10 January, Burberry opened a pop-up boutique at Genting Grand Secret Garden in Chongli. The boutique, which will last until the 26th of March, allows customers to explore Burberry’s coat collection under the theme of mountaineering and adventure.
Lululemon announces Guanyu Zhou as the brand ambassador
Lululemon announced Guanyu Zhou (周冠宇) – China’s first F1 driver – as its brand ambassador. He has more than 1.5 million followers on Weibo.
BEAUTY
Maybelline New York announces Dylan as its global spokesperson
On 4 January, Maybelline New York announced Dylan (王鹤棣) as its global spokesperson. Dylan is a famous Chinese actor with more than 17 million followers in Weibo.
YSL Beauty officially announces Chris Lee as global spokesperson
On 6 January, YSL Beauty officially announced Chris Lee (李宇春) as its brand global spokesperson. Chris Lee is a famous Chinese singer with more than 16 million followers on Weibo.
Takami opens three stores in China
TAKAMI, a Japanese skincare brand under L’Oreal Group, opened three new stores in three days with one in Chengdu and two in Hangzhou.
RETAIL
The first cross-border experience store in Wangfujing starts to be in business
On 1 January, the first cross-border experience store in Wangfujing (王府井) opened for business. With an operation area of approximately 180 square meters, the store mainly deals in international cosmetics, fragrances and skin care products of 40 brands including Estee Lauder, Sea Blue Mystery, Shiseido, Clarence, Dior and other international first-line brands. The store combines online and offline channels together, allowing customers to experience the goods in the real store first and then scan the QR code to buy them online.
LIFESTYLE
X-BIONIC announces Ziwei Ren as the brand spokesperson
X-BIONIC officially announced Ziwei Ren (任子威) as its brand spokesperson. Ziwei Ren is an Olympic champion of short-track speed skating, and has 1.7 million followers in Weibo.
JEWELRY AND WATCHES
Chopard announces Yi Cheng as the brand ambassador of Happy Diamonds collection
On 12 January, Chopard announced Yi Cheng (成毅) to be the brand ambassador of Happy Diamonds collection. Yi Cheng is a young and popular Chinese actor, who has over 20 million followers on Weibo.
HOSPITALITY
Nantong Marriott Hotel opens in Yangtze River Delta
On 10 January, Nantong Marriott Hotel, with 420 rooms and suites of modern decorations, officially opened in Nantong, which is located in Yangtze River Delta.
Marriott’s first ski in & out China opens in Aranya
Courtyard by Marriott Chongli, the first Ski in & out Hotel of Marriott in China, officially opened in Aranya. With an area of over 50,000 square meters, the hotel has 257 spacious guestrooms and suites.
CORPORATE
China gets off to a good start with new year tourism rebound, boosts market confidence for 2023 economic recovery
In the first holiday season after China adjusted its coronavirus management measures, the country ushered in a bulge of tourism demands across different regions, as the Chinese people unleash their pent-up demands for travel in what experts said makes a good start for economic rebound in 2023. China has seen about 52.7 million domestic tourist visits during the three-day New Year holiday, up 0.44 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on January 2.
Foreign investors more optimistic as nation moves steadily toward full recovery
China on January 8th officially entered a new phase of COVID-19 response as it downgraded its COVID-19 management from Class A to Class B. As the country moves steadily toward a full recovery, many foreign-funded enterprises indicated that they had begun to schedule high-level visits to China. These all sent a strong signal, that is, more than three years after the outbreak of the epidemic, China, as the world’s largest market, still maintains a huge attraction for foreign investment.
From stable CPI to rosy local GDP targets, more signs show China’s fast economic rebound
The Chinese economy is headed for a fast recovery and a world-leading growth rate in 2023, with latest inflation data showing price stability in 2022 despite huge pressure. According to the National Bureau of Statistics said on Jan 12, China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2 percent year on year in 2022.
WEB3
Estée Lauder teams up with CDF to launch the traveling theme digital collection
Estée Lauder launched its digital collection “Wonderland Gift” with CDF. The collection incorporates elements of the metaverse, fantasy exploration, and wonderland adventure as the main theme. Customers can also go on brand TR mini program on WeChat to participate in the AR experience to win digital collections. Users with the “Black Diamond” exclusive piece can redeem product samples as rewards.
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