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Crouching global fashion tigers eye hidden Chinese consumer dragon |
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2004-7-21
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A financial hub lies under the ultra conscious fashion-conscious Hong Kong’s famous skyline where world-renowned luxury-goods firms rub shoulders with emissaries of European haut couture.
Under the arch lights are the likes of Giorgio Armani, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Prada to name a few leading light of the industry, which have established themselves in Central District of the former British colony.
Their common interest is using the territory as a springboard to gain access market share over the enormous consumer apparel market of China. And why should the local designers be left behind as they keep their eyes open for opportunities to increase exposure of their labels to shoppers across the border.
In the backdop of Hong Kong Spring/Summer Fashion Week drawing to a close, leading local fashion designer William Tang, one among many Hong Kong designers who are looking north, said there was no better time than now to take advantage of the Chinese clothing market.
A Hong Kong Fashion Week study concluded that Chinese shoppers were receptive to brands, particularly in the mid- and high-end segments.
Yet another survey found that Mainland China as a region enjoyed the world''s highest retail market growth, at 49 percent, followed by 42 percent in Western Europe.
"Hong Kong designers have an understanding both in Western and Chinese fashion," said Tang.
"That is the uniqueness of Hong Kong. A lot of European buyers come to Hong Kong for the oriental elements in our design while the Chinese like our Western design."
The 30 percent growth in the number of mainlander buyers attending the Hong Kong Fashion Week reflected the popularity of local designs.
Guo Zhigang, sales manager of a China clothing firm based in Zhuhai in neighboring Guangdong province, was one of the 2,720 buyers from the mainland who said, "Their clothes are very fashionable, stylish and well tailored. It''s very popular among our customers.”
With the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in place, imports of Hong Kong clothing brands to China have been eased than previous year, Also, imported textiles and clothing benefit from a zero tariff in the mainland.
China with population of 1.3 billion, offers huge potential even as it spending power is growing rapidly as the economic boom continues.
Textile Intelligence, a US research and publishing company, estimated that China''s middle-income class who are in the market for luxury goods represent 15 percent of the population.
In 2002, China spent US$75 billion just on clothes and accessories. Hong Kong residents spent US$9.6 billion.
Local and multinational companies are rushing to tap this huge potential and promise.
Italian fashion guru Giorgio Armani took his multi-billion dollar empire into China in April, opening its biggest Asian outlet outside Japan in Shanghai.
French luxury luggage firm Louis Vuitton will open its first full-range shop on the mainland in Shanghai in September, and will have 13 stores by year-end.
Italian fashion house Prada said it plans to use Hong Kong as a gateway to China. It will invest more than 35 million euros in the mainland in 2004-2005 and nearly double its outlets there from 17 to 30.
“Hong Kong is no longer just the international platform for the Far East; it increasingly represents a launch pad into the Chinese market,"
Prada chief executive Patrizio Bertelli said at the opening of the firm''s second-largest Asian store in Hong Kong in April.
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