china Exposed luxury Brands Recent developments have brought attention to the manufacturing practices of luxury brands, particularly concerning their production in China. Chinese manufacturers and influencers have highlighted that many high-end products, such as handbags and apparel, are produced in China at significantly lower costs than their retail prices suggest. This has sparked discussions about the transparency and pricing strategies of luxury brands.LADbible+6Pakistan Today+6CTV News+6
Fancy dropping a hundred thousand pounds worth of Chinese yuan on a gem fit for a queen in Shanghai? There is one place to go — the local outlet of Garrard & Co, Britain’s royal jeweller.
But don’t expect to dazzle onlookers as you emerge with an engagement ring modelled on the Princess of Wales’s token of love or a brooch similar to Queen Victoria’s bauble.
Garrard Shanghai is in a mall converted from a colonial-era church off the Bund, Shanghai’s heavily restored waterfront. The mall targets China’s super-rich and almost every shopfront, save Garrard’s, is boarded up.
The marble halls with their dim lighting echo emptily to the feet of the few people passing through to the lifts to the upper floors.
There is no Gucci or Armani, brands that littered Shanghai as China’s economy grew exponentially two decades ago, churning out millionaires then billionaires. The economy has stalled. Even for those who can still afford to splurge, the magic has gone.
In response to these revelations, major luxury brands have addressed concerns regarding their manufacturing processes. For instance, Lululemon has stated that it does not collaborate with the manufacturers mentioned in the viral videos and cautioned consumers about counterfeit products. Similarly, Adidas emphasized that its products are not sold directly by suppliers and should only be purchased through official channels. These statements aim to reassure consumers about the authenticity and quality of their products. LADbible+2Latest news & breaking headlines+2YouTube+2CTV News
Additionally, the luxury market in China is experiencing a downturn. Economic challenges, including a slumping property sector, have led to decreased consumer spending. Brands like Gucci, Prada, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton have closed several stores in Shanghai due to declining sales. Consumers are now prioritizing essential expenses over luxury goods, reflecting a shift in purchasing behavior. Latest news & breaking headlines
“I have gone past the stage of wanting to buy expensive stuff,” said Susan Ji, 48, who carried a Michael Kors handbag but wore unremarkable jeans and a blouse in the lobby of another, more successful, Shanghai mall, Plaza 66. “There are more important things in our lives, like our children’s education.”
Two Gucci stores in Shanghai closed in February alone, while Prada shut the doors to its branch at Hongqiao international airport. Linkshop.com, the industry monitor, said that was on top of eight closures in the last quarter of last year by top-end western luxury brand names, such as Bulgari, the jeweller, and the French giants, Chanel and Louis Vuitton.
Economists say the trend reflects the situation of China’s cash-strapped middle classes after a slump in the property market. Bain & Company, the consultancy, said sales in the Chinese mainland luxury goods market as a whole fell by 18 to 20 per cent last year alone.
In a marker of the “lipstick effect” — in which sales of cheaper “treats” like make-up rise in a recession while everything else falls — jewellery and luxury watch markets in China suffered while the beauty industry had an upturn.
These developments indicate a growing demand for transparency in the luxury industry and a reevaluation of consumer values in the face of economic pressures.
Jay Zhu, 40, who admitted that he was dressed from top to toe in Burberry, said: “In the old days, we would buy without thinking about it for a minute.” He added that he still loved western fashion brands, which he regarded as a mark of success from getting his first job in the real estate industry.
He said everything changed when he quit his company amid the downturn. Plaza 66 is Shanghai’s best-known upmarket mall. But even here, where the Loro Piana and Tiffany stores still had window shoppers, there appeared to be more people like Zhu using the lobby as a short-cut rather than a place to buy.
“The real estate crisis has really affected everyone,” he said. “In that industry … senior executives could earn millions. Not now.”
He said he had also noticed a change of attitude in younger generations, who no longer seemed so concerned with public displays of new-found success.