The Biggest Luxury Consume Country: China
The answer is China, Russian, and the Indians who get better off earlier.
China has by far become the third largest market of luxury goods, only second to America and Japan. It is expected that by 2015 the growing middle class and the rich will make China the largest consumer. I have no doubt about this and even hold that China is likely to achieve this goal before that time. Lately, America’s Time Magazine has conducted a survey of the luxury brands best known among Chinese consumers. The result shows that the No. 1 goes to Rolex, followed by Lacoste, Valentino, Chanel and Dior. I wonder how come Louis Vuitton doesn’t show up in the list, how this survey is conducted.
Russian women’s love of beauty is familiar throughout the world, with their good name that they’d rather paint their lips than to appease their hunger. Ten years ago when I worked at a software company, I had a female colleague from Russia. Her salary wasn’t high, and her family wasn’t very well-off, however, her handbags are Chanel, shoes are Ferragamo, always wore gold necklace round her neck and at least three of her fingers wearing rings, which provided a sharp contrast with the American colleagues who wore Eddie Bauer. The last decade Russian people has made great money from selling oil and those money they all hand in to luxury brands. Russian people’s taste differs from that of the Chinese. Russian people don’t like to be low key, they especially like expensive jewelry that can show their status and wealth. In Russia, the five best known luxury brands are Versace, Dior, Chanel, Vyacheslav Zaitsev and Valentin Yudashkin in order. Interestingly, the last two are their native luxury brands.
There are old school aristocrats and rich people in India long ago, but the number is small, and they usually spend their money abroad, which is not amount to anything. In recent years, the call center service blossoming across this country has brought up a large group of young middle class, which is the main consumption force of India’s emerging luxury-goods market. India takes off later than China and Russia, but develops faster, thus called “the next China”. A few years ago when I was handling a consulting project, the other consultants are from our Indian office, all about 25, 26 years old. I happened to carry a Louis Vuitton handbag, and when they knew the piece, they eyes popped in surprise. I guess they must have bought their wives several LV bags over the past few years.
VS
