As Chinese spend on high fashion worldwide, local firms go shopping for brands to expand
Retailers, investors and industry insiders believe China’s luxury goods industry, despite losses for the second year in a row in 2015, is still well on its way to a brighter future, coasting on the momentum of double-digit growth in recent years, said consulting firm Bain & Co.
The Fortune Character Institute’s research findings appear to confirm the optimistic outlook. In 2015, Chinese consumers bought 46 percent of the luxury goods consumed worldwide. But 78 percent of it was bought outside China.
Two women inspect a Breguet wrist watch inlaid with 706 diamonds, and priced 1.77 million yuan ($276,563).CHINA DAILY
Chinese consumers of high fashion and luxury goods are becoming increasingly discerning too. Not for them any brand that is easily available or visible. By buying and encouraging the best among the existing luxury brands, Chinese consumers are emerging to be trendsetters. To ride the rising wave of fashion consciousness among Chinese consumers, Shandong RuyiGroup, one of China’s leading textile producers, reportedly joined the bidders for French fashion group SMCP on Jan 20, according to a Bloomberg report.
SMCP is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion. The group owns affordable luxury brands such as Maje and Sandro, which have been enjoying surging popularity among China’s rising middle class in recent years.
Shandong RuyiGroup is ranked amon...