Picking up a loaf of bread and a Gucci bag
Updated: 2013-05-23 02:25
By XU JUNQIAN in Shanghai and CAO YIN in Beijing (China Daily)
|
|||||||||
LUXURY SALES SLOW
A luxury goods retailer said on Wednesday that sluggish sales are behind the decision to open a shop inside a supermarket, as it looks to reach more ordinary consumers.
Della Mela, a premium multibrand luxury fashion boutique, has acquired almost a quarter of the floor area at the luxury products sector in the Century Lianhua Supermarket in Hangzhou and sells high-end, custom-made suits and other products including brands like Fugato.
"Since it opened on Saturday the sales of suits, shirts and shoes have been good, while customers largely shied away from the really expensive leather products and those made of alligator skin," said Teresa Wang, marketing director of Della Mela.
She said sales at the new store are not as robust as expected, but the company will make adjustments and look into the option of opening more outlets near large grocery stores.
"We saw a major fall in sales last year, and the prospects are not optimistic for the next two years," she said. "Although we're not 100 percent sure about this new approach, we still want to try."
According to the 2013 China Consumer Market Development Report by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, the growth of the luxury market on the Chinese mainland slowed to 7 percent last year from 30 percent in 2011, the lowest level since 2006, partly due to government policies to crack down on waste and lavish spending.
Purchases of luxury brands, particularly in the male luxury sector, will remain low this year, the report said.
Zhou Ting, director of the Fortune Character Research Center, said she believes the popularization of luxury brands after almost a decade of aggressive expansion has led some of the brands to "inevitably step down from their high, untouchable altar" and into people's daily lives.
"It has nothing to do with the sluggish luxury market, but a must-go-through phase," she said.
Gucci China said it has noticed the news online but is not sure whether the products sold there are authentic, and is having its legal affairs department look into it.
— Wang Zhenghua
- Two luxury cruise liners go into use in Hubei
- International Luxury Travel Market scheduled for June
- Dutch prison now luxury hotel
荷监狱变奢华酒店(图) - Luxury brands up service level as competition grows
- Luxury fashion labels measure up to the competition
- Luxury sellers adapt to changing market
- Raid on fake luxury bag storehouse in subway
- Michelle lays roses at site along Berlin Wall
- Historic space lecture in Tiangong-1 commences
- 'Sopranos' Star James Gandolfini dead at 51
- UN: Number of refugees hits 18-year high
- Slide: Jet exercises from aircraft carrier
- Talks establish fishery hotline
- Foreign buyers eye Chinese drones
- UN chief hails China's peacekeepers
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Pumping up power of consumption |
From China with love and care |
From the classroom to the boardroom |
Schools open overseas campus |
Domestic power of new energy |
Clearing the air |
Today's Top News
Shenzhou X astronaut gives lecture today
US told to reassess duties on Chinese paper
Chinese seek greater share of satellite market
Russia rejects Obama's nuke cut proposal
US immigration bill sees Senate breakthrough
Brazilian cities revoke fare hikes
Moody's warns on China's local govt debt
Air quality in major cities drops in May
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |