After nearly two full months of society shutting down, schools closing and the population undergoing a self-imposed home-quarantine, there are signs of recovery in China. These signs indicate that the Chinese economy can provide some optimism to international brands currently suffering, and that the rapidly developing society continues its bright and optimistic outlook.
In beauty, International Women’s Day sparked the first seasonal-specific campaign since Chinese New Year (with most brands dropping Valentine’s Day and regular communications during the height of the crisis) to great effect. From Reuter Intelligence’s recent China Luxury Briefing:
“For International Women’s Day, close to 1,000 brands live-streamed on WeChat. Viewers could watch various beauty and fashion brands’ live-streams through each brand’s official WeChat Mini-Program. On average, users watched a live-stream for 8 minutes. Overseas high-end beauty brands recorded 200% sales growth during International Women’s Day Tmall promotion. Brands such as Shiseido, Lancôme, Estee Lauder and SK-II benefited from the Alibaba-owned e-commerce platform’s promotion, which included express deliveries and special sales.”
The Briefing also explains that “Various tourist sites in the city of Sanya on Hainan island have been open since late February. On the first day of reopening, tourist sites welcomed 270 visitors, and by the International Women’s Day, over 1,100 tourists visited. The country aims to develop Hainan as a globally influential tourism and consumption destination by 2035.”
As WWD China announces a Sustainable ‘Digital Fashion Week,’ and Summit, they also see that the Chinese fashion industry is “80 percent on track to recover” and there are queues in Plaza 66 once more.
Events are targeting June/July as a bounce back, such as the China International Fashion Fair in Shenzhen.
Of course, the recovery will take time yet the signs are there, with the West looking for positivity from China as a sign of being able to bounce back after just two months.
While 2020 has proved to be a difficult year so far and Covid-19 has triggered a new social mindset in an already complex business landscape, the perspective has shifted as hope for recovery rests on China’s shoulders. If the signs of positivity remain then the luxury industry can envisage a faster global recovery, as the market’s leading consumers step out into Spring with both optimism and the will to spend.
