The Chinese luxury market has emerged in an environment where the overall consumer market recovers slowly. Since this year, the overseas luxury brand turnover has been frequently reported by the Chinese market. China has ushered in a wave of luxury brand executives.
The strong recovery of the luxury market and the overall downturn consumer environment formed a strong contrast. Scholars interviewees analyzed that there will be two very different consumer trends in the case of half a year to one year.The crowd continued to take a cautious consumption attitude.
The Chinese consumer market did not have a strong V -type recovery after the epidemic prevention policy at the beginning of the year. The total retail sales of social consumer goods in the first four months of this year were lower than expected, and the year -on -year increase was only 8.5%.The total amount of April even showed signs of decline, from 3785.5 billion yuan in March (S $ 713.545 billion) to RMB 3491 billion, a decrease of 7.8%.
The overall consumer market in China is still slowly out of the cold winter of the epidemic, but the luxury market, which focuses on high -end consumer groups, has ushered in the warm spring of recovery.Beijing high -end shopping malls have reproduced crowds on weekends. Louis Vuitton (LV), Hermes, Chanel and other high -end brand stores lined up outside the store; wearing high -end consumers wearing a boutique, holding a brand bag, and a boutique paper bag in one hand,Bob in malls abound.
China is the world's second largest luxury market, accounting for more than 30 % of the global market share.A report issued by Bain Company showed that the sales of Chinese personal luxury goods had grown rapidly for five consecutive years in 2022, a decrease of 10%year -on -year.However, the major brands quickly reversed last year's decline this year. Looking at China's consumption data alone, the growth of gold and silver jewelry in the first four months was significantly higher than the overall consumption growth level, a year -on -year increase of 18.5%.
In the first quarter of this year, the luxury giant LVMH increased its revenue by 17%year -on -year under the driving of the Chinese market.The increase in each region is the largest.LVMH pointed out in the first quarter report that the Asian market had a significant rebound and expressed "very optimistic" to the recovery of the Chinese economy.
Another French luxury giant Hermes' performance in the first quarter also exceeded expectations. Comprehensive revenue increased by 22.3%year -on -year, excluding Japan's Asian sales increased by 23%; Hermes also attributed rapid growth to strong consumption demand in the Chinese market.EssenceSome analysts predict that China ’s luxury consumption will rise sharply this year and restore the level of 2021.
The 36 -year -old sales executive Lin Yan (pseudonym) is one of the luxury customers who return the flow after the epidemic prevention policy., Louis Vuitton and Hermes are all the brands she can't be familiar with.
Over the past three years, Lin Yan turned his focus to children's education and self -improvement during the epidemic, and suspended the purchase of luxury goods.But at the beginning of this year, after the family overhead was relatively stable, she stepped into the boutique again and spent about 50,000 yuan to buy St. Roland and Dior.
Lin Yan's annual income reached 30 to 500,000 yuan. From the level of China's per capita disposable income of urban residents in 2022, it is a high -income group in the level of 49,283 yuan, and Beijing in first -tier cities belongs to high -income people.EssenceIn her social circle, most of the women who are similar to her have the habit of buying luxury goods. Famous brand clothing has become a symbol of high -income people in large cities.
Lin Yan said: "Before buying luxury goods, the first point is to consider whether I have a certainty for future economic capabilities. In recent years, the overall environment of the epidemic is not good.Consumption in luxury goods will naturally decrease, but this year many people with high -income income are still a little expecting the future. "
Analysis: Reflecting the gap between the rich and the poor
Overseas luxury brands' optimistic emotions for the recovery of the Chinese market are also reflected in the densely visited visit to China by luxury giants.According to Chinese media statistics, more than 20 international luxury and high -end beauty companies have visited China this year, including Francois Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of the board of directors of French luxury giant KeringJohn Idol, chief executive and chairman of the US luxury company CAPRI Group, and Andrea Guerra, chief executive officer of Prada Group; there are also news that Bernard Arnault, founder of LVMH Group, will be this month.Visit China.
Yao Shujie, a professor of economics at Chongqing University, analyzed in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao that the strong rebound of the luxury market showed that the impact of the epidemic on high -end consumer groups had a small impact on the low -end income population.Later, there is a lot of potential, but at the same time as the consumption of medium and high -income groups, the lower income people continue to adopt a cautious consumption attitude. This trend is expected to last about half a year to one year.
From the end of 2020 to 2021, when China recovered from the first wave of coronary disease, there was an overspeed recovery in the luxury market.Wang Jun, chief economist of China Economic Huatai Assets, studied and judged that similar trends have appeared again, showing that these two economic recovery have structural imbalances, and policies for hedging economic downturn are also structured. For example, fiscal investment is more.More is used to support infrastructure, not to subsidize residents.These issues are reflected in the income of residents, showing that the growth of low and medium -income groups is relatively slow, and high -income groups enjoy more dividends.
Wang Jun believes that the trend of rebounding in the luxury market reflects deeper the problem of rich and poor, which is not unique to China.However, for the Chinese government, it is important to enhance the ability of disadvantaged groups such as low -income and unemployed to resist various economic fluctuations through fiscal subsidies and other methods.Bring a long -term benign promotion role.
