|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The best of brands have
come to stay and compete with one another in China. The country, known
for its manufacturing skills, is emerging as a hot market for fashion
goodies,
THE shopping centres of any city are a good guide to how globalised the place is. The brands on display and the styles in vogue reveal more than the play of market forces and the sway of consumerism. The shopping hubs reveal how aspirational a city is and, often, its cultural image. Beijing is no exception. When a first-time visitor to "New China" – so described for the Communist giant’s potential as a global player in a capitalist world — lands in Beijing, what is striking is the force of consumerism. On the ground are shopping hubs with a dazzling explosion of brands that can be seen in any affluent western metro mall. Looking upwards, the skyscrapers rising to compete with those already towering above testify to a construction cycle that is transforming more than just the landscape. The cycle of construction, along with the consumerism these commercial structures will fuel further, are changing mindscapes: imprinting in the visitor’s mind the credentials of Beijing as an international metropolis. The bleak images of a Beijing, where bicycle-riding proletarian hordes wrapped in grey and black thronged broad, car-less roads bereft of distractions on either side, belong to an almost-forgotten past. The shops in the plazas and malls are full of goodies, and the present generation is too rushed with shopping to pause and recall a time they don’t, and don’t want to, remember. The city scene is hardly one that fits pre-conceptions of a "developing country". If consumerism and commercial construction symbolise the dynamism that drives Beijing on the road to a bigger boom promised by the Olympics later this year, fashion is the banner proclaiming a city and culture transformed. The brand wagons are in full flow, whether it is in the up-market Oriental Plaza below the Grand Hyatt or just across, in the shops packed in the walking area of Wangfujing. Wangfujing, one of the oldest markets in Beijing, is a big shopping magnet for the Chinese as well as tourists. Though many more, larger and more attractive shopping complexes, have come up in the sprawling capital and are thriving, Wangfujing remains a major attraction. A short distance from the historic Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City, it may be less popular with the locals, but for visitors and tourists it holds more appeal than the Oriental Plaza. The luxurious Plaza is said to be a joint venture between a local businessman and a Hong Kong tycoon. Beijing, like Shanghai, is fast emerging as a place for luxury shopping, be it for classy clothes, trendy shoes or much-advertised western accessories. Nike is the top shoe brand with Adidas close at its heels. When it comes to attires, like accessories, the brands dictated by fashion are the most in demand. Hugo Boss, Gucci and Prada are doing well, as is Ermenegildo Zegna, which opened its first outlet in Beijing in the early 1990s. Givenchy, reported to have over 50 outlets in the big Chinese cities, is no longer the rage it once was along with Kenzo and Christian Lacroix, said a saleswoman in the Oriental Plaza. Jack & Jones is selling a lot now. The "most-loved brand", chips in a buyer, is Louis Vuitton, which is expanding its retail network in China. Armani, too, is a favourite among the wealthier sections. China, known for its stupendous manufacturing capacity, appears to be emerging as a huge market where purchasing power and brand preferences are witnessing an unprecedented rise. The percentage of the population trawling the malls may be small, but the numbers, even at a conservative estimate of 250 million luxury brand buyers, is more than the population of many European countries. The trends in fashion, like the skyscrapers under construction, signify a new modernity and an awareness of status. It also reveals that more people, especially the young, are taking care about how they look and are keen to flaunt their tastes through the brands they choose. Clearly, consumption levels of luxury goods are rising at a mind-blowing rate. For its part, the government is encouraging consumers to spend more through exposures to western culture, customs, products and couture. If 2006 was declared the "Year of Italy", it was the turn of France last year for "educating" the Chinese in consumer tastes and choices. This schooling in consumerism is evident in the way the Chinese are now hooked on brands. Doubtless, good product presentation and price may decide brand selection, but the fact is that brands from Dior and DKNY to Versace and Dunhill have come to stay and compete with one another. It is said that 10 per cent of the richest people in China also live in Beijing, and for them, fashion is what fashion does; and, it seems to be doing a lot for the Chinese as well as the international business of fashion. Of course, for those who cannot afford the original brands, in Beijing there are imitations of every designer label made in any part of the world.
|
|||
|
|
|||
