Ren Media
Ren Media
Published on 10th June 2010
Noticed a couple of interesting articles recently talking about the importance of Chinese shoppers to London Retail.
This one from Drinks International
Chinese shoppers are outnumbering Russians according to a survey of shopping trends among retail outlets in Mayfair, London’s most expensive shopping area.
The study was conducted by FDKG, which describes itself as a consultancy that helps UK luxury goods business to develop a foothold in China.
It claims that Chinese luxury goods shoppers outnumber the equivalent Russians by almost 15:1. In fact the Russians come fourth after the Americans and Japanese as well. Fifty-eight percent of the luxury goods retailers stated that their most frequent visitors were Chinese.
FDKG managing director Ken Grant, said: “The strength of the Chinese economy, which is growing at 9% per annum, is not having a measurable impact abroad, with many luxury goods retailers and manufacturers benefiting passively from the enormous spending power of the Chinese ultra rich.”
The report, based on a sample of almost 800 wealthy Chinese businessmen and women, provided some other spending and consuming characteristics.
- One third of China’s ultra rich prefer to drink Dom Perignon champagne;
- The most popular watch brand is Rolex;
- 24.8% own domestically made Audis while BMW is the most popular imported car;
- After Hong Kong, Europe is the most popular travel destination- 98% own property and almost half own two residential properties and some own more than five;
- After China, the UK is the most popular country to send their children to be educated; twice as popular as the UK.
And this one from http://www.questsearch.co.uk
Tourists to boost West End retail sales
London West End retail sales are set for further growth in the coming years, fuelled by an upturn in spending by international visitors.
The New West End Company, which represents 600 retailers across Bond Street, Regent Street and Oxford Street, has announced that yearly spending in the West End looks set to exceed £6 billion for the first time during 2010.
Sales are expected to reach a total of £12 billion over the next two years, with spend increasing by ten per cent in a year, and international shoppers making the most of favourable exchange rates to bolster figures.
The number of international shoppers in the West End has risen significantly too, with Blue Global figures showing Australian visitor numbers were up by 54 per cent year-on-year in January, while Malaysian and Chinese tourist numbers grew by 48 and 46 per cent respectively.
Among international visitors, Chinese shoppers are also set to up spending the most, with growth of 35 per cent predicted for 2012. Yet as a result of current restrictions on UK visas in China, only 110,000 Chinese tourists visit annually compared to two million who visit the rest of Europe.
In an effort to encourage more people from China to visit the UK in time for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, New West End Company and VisitBritain have launched a campaign to try and help increase flexibility to the UK visa.
The Visa-ability Campaign aims to change the system, ultimately making it easier, more user-friendly and cheaper to apply for a visa. Together, New West End Company and VisitBritain want to speed up the application process, as well as implementing other improvements.
West End retailers think the 2012 Olympics could boost sales by ten per cent, as trading has typically risen by more than 60 per cent during recent Olympics. The latest campaign may well inflate this figure even further.
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Looks like it's becoming more and more important to engage Chinese customers. Is your business ready?
