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- Rhino trio horned in
- China New Year Retail Sales Growth Slows on Frugal Drive
- Secondhand stores feed frenzy for top-end goods
- Have You Heard…
- Rhino trio horned in
- Three people, including Chinese nationals, have been charged in the United States with taking part in an alleged rhinoceros horn smuggling ring that included Hong Kong.
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| China New Year Retail Sales Growth Slows on Frugal Drive Posted: 16 Feb 2013 09:24 AM PST  Source: Bloomberg News | Photo: China Daily Shop and restaurant sales in China during the week-long Lunar New Year festival rose at the slowest pace in four years as a government crackdown on extravagant spending by officials limited outlays on food and drink. The New Year holiday, comparable to the peak Christmas shopping rush in the U.S., is a period when consumers in the world's second-biggest economy splurge on food, jewelry and gifts, and government officials are wined and dined. Sales may have been damped by a campaign started by Xi Jinping, the new head of the Communist Party, to rein in lavish spending while rising incomes are prompting more Chinese to travel overseas. "The slower growth, manifested in the restaurant business, was partly a result of the government crackdown on corruption and the anti-waste campaign," Leon Zhao, a Shanghai-based analyst at researcher Frost & Sullivan, said in a telephone interview. "We expect overall retail sales and consumption to rise again along with the improving economy in the second and third quarters." Accelerating Growth An improving economic outlook may help boost store receipts. China's gross domestic product rose 7.9 percent in the final three months of 2012 from the same period a year earlier, halting a seven-quarter deceleration. The World Bank forecasts economic growth will quicken to 8.4 percent this year, more than four times the pace of the U.S. The euro area will shrink 0.1 percent, the lender projects. Steeper discounts, longer promotion periods and Valentine's Day falling during the 2013 festival were expected to help drive purchases, especially of gold and jewelry, Candy Huang, a Hong Kong-based analyst with Barclays Plc, said before the holiday. The New Year break was in January last year. Jewelry sales jumped 38.1 percent over the week-long break compared with a 16.4 percent increase in 2012, according to commerce ministry figures. Food sales rose 9.8 percent, down from a 16.2 percent pace the previous year. The increase in garment sales slowed to 6.3 percent from 18.7 percent, the data showed. Restaurant Sales Sales of "high end" electronics, including Apple Inc.'s iPad and iPhone, jumped 36 percent in shops monitored by the ministry in the eastern city of Nanjing, according to the statement. In contrast, spending at "high-end" restaurants in the eastern province of Zhejiang dropped by more than 20 percent, the ministry said. The data are based on sales at "major retail and restaurant outlets" monitored by the ministry, according to the statement, which didn't specify the number of stores or whether the figures were adjusted for inflation. The cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing, and the central and eastern provinces of Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Zhejiang and Hubei were mentioned in the report. The National Bureau of Statistics will release combined retail sales data for January and February on March 9. A report by the official Xinhua News Agency yesterday said many hotels and restaurants saw business decline over the holiday. The five-star Liuzhou Hotel in the southern city of Liuzhou, frequently used for government receptions, saw consumption of abalone, lobster, Moutai liquor and imported wines drop "drastically," it said, citing an employee who declined to be identified. Flagging Spirit Shares in Shanghai-listed Kweichow Moutai Co., the maker of the white spirit, have dropped 17 percent since Xi took power on Nov. 15. Over the same period, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has jumped 20 percent. Demand for fireworks to celebrate the Year of the Snake also fizzled as residents became more aware of their impact on the environment after toxic smog engulfed northern China last month. Statistics from the Beijing government showed sales of fireworks in the city during the holiday fell 45 percent from last year to 313,000 boxes, Xinhua said. China UnionPay, which operates the country's bankcard network, said the value of domestic card transactions during the New Year holiday jumped 43 percent from a year ago and overseas purchases gained 33 percent. Card payments in jewelry shops surged 119 percent, boosted by Valentine's Day, while transactions in shopping malls climbed 44 percent, the company said in a statement on its website yesterday. In contrast, payments in restaurants increased 17 percent, it said. Overseas Tourism Produce and meat prices were "relatively stable" during the holiday, the commerce ministry said. The price of pork gained 0.9 percent during the holiday period from the preceding week, mutton rose 1.9 percent, beef 1.3 percent and a basket of 18 vegetables rose 0.6 percent. Tourist arrivals in 39 key cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin and Sanya, climbed 15 percent to 76 million during the holiday compared with last year's break, the National Tourism Administration said on its website yesterday. Travel agencies handled more than 4 million tourists visiting overseas, a 14 percent gain on last year, with Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong among the hottest destinations, the administration said. In a separate statement, the agency said tourism revenue over the festival rose 15 percent from last year to 117 billion yuan. With holidaymakers due to return to work yesterday, the Ministry of Railways estimated it handled more than 7.4 million passengers on Feb. 15 and deployed 783 temporary trains to cope with the rush. A total 224.5 million trips were made on railways during the festival, representing a daily average of 5.61 million, Xinhua reported, citing the ministry. |
| Secondhand stores feed frenzy for top-end goods Posted: 16 Feb 2013 09:20 AM PST  Source: By Lu Chang (China Daily) Buying, let alone carrying around, a secondhand purse may be unpopular in China, but the nation's obsession with luxury goods is driving its young nouveaux riche into bargain basements looking for brand-name bags on the cheap. Julie Zhu, 56, is among the earliest secondhand luxury store owners in Beijing. Zhu, inspired by Milan Station, a pre-owned luxury retailer in Hong Kong, opened her first store 10 years ago. But Zhu, who named her store Milan Fashion and who has two shops in the capital, said it was not until recently that her business has grown. She said Chinese consumers used to shy away from secondhand bags. "The first five years were a difficult period and we had to educate customers because they didn't get on board with our new business model," she said. Business grew after 2008 when the recession hit. She said the global downturn "turned" wealthy customers into loyal ones, shifting their eyes from full-price shops to retail outlets that offer discounts or secondhand luxury products. Recently, on a trip to Zhu's 40 square meter store, customers packed the shop looking for designer bags including Bottega Veneta, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Hermes. It was a clear sign that more consumers, at least in Beijing, are looking to the secondhand market for luxury goods. Zhu said the company has grown more than 20 percent in recent years and has hundreds of bags to sell. But secondhand designer goods do not always come cheap. A Dior bag, which seemed brand new at the store, sold for close to $4,000, about 20 percent of the retail price. Items that are limited editions or hard-to-find products sometimes sell at higher prices. "People are changing their perception about used luxury goods," she said. "As Chinese customers who used to think that they were too rich to buy pre-owned luxuries are traveling more and are being exposed to overseas trends, they become more accepting of secondhand stores." Lucy Liu, 32, who shops frequently at Milan Fashion, said she likes the concept of buying used luxury goods. "One woman's trash is another woman's treasure," said Liu, who checked out a beige Chanel bag and hung it on her shoulder. "Women get bored easily with the new discretionary items that they bought, but it is a waste if they throw them away and buy new ones." Tony Chan, Milan Station's chief promotion officer, said many of his most recent handbags are trendy and are from women who got bored with their new "toys". "This is how we receive the most innovative programs," he said, adding that many women get bored even before the bag is displayed on the shelf. Cecilia Zhang, an English translator who regularly shops at Milan Station, said she does not care whether a bag is used. She mostly cares about its condition and how the current price compares to its original price. "Secondhand goods don't necessarily equal lower quality and someone's cast-off," she said. "We all grew up wearing our big sister's or brother's worn clothes, so if you think that way, the whole concept of buying secondhand goods is kind of green." At the shop, a secondhand Bottega Veneta bag sells for more than $3,000, compared with its $6,000 original sticker price. Zhu said the secondhand luxury goods market has recently been hit hard because more people are turning to the Internet to shop for luxury items. "The thing about online shopping is that you can't tell whether it is fake or real," Zhu said. "Sometimes shoppers are attracted by the low price online, but it might be a fake with cheap leather or it is missing details. You wouldn't know if you don't see it." Zhu plans to expand one of her stores into a place where consumers can find a secondhand purse for only $100, far cheaper than it would be online. "I've been in the luxury goods market for more than 10 years and I have accumulated much in my inventory during this period," she said. "The place will be somewhere I can clear my stock and at the same time enable genuine luxury to be within reach of the average Jane." |
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