Is Hong Kong losing its appeal as a top luxury destination?
GHC Asia attended the 3rd Edition of the Luxury Symposium conference yesterday organized by the French Chamber in Hong Kong. The sessions focused on the theme of ‘The Greater Bay Area: a new playground for luxury brands?’ Insights were shared from The Economist, Kering, and Melco Resorts & Entertainment and many others, and centered around Hong Kong still being a top luxury destination, but is its appeal fading amongst mainland Chinese visitors?
In terms of luxury retail, stores are becoming less transactional as shoppers already know what they want and are finding it online, and therefore luxury brands in Hong Kong need to keep up with the digital transformation that is leading the industry. As the consumer mindset from China continues to change and audiences are getting younger, luxury brands also need to balance creating more bespoke and unique brand experiences alongside the need for transparency and telling more of the story of sustainability behind the brand or product. It’s a new norm that Chinese millennials expect. It’s no surprise then that social media continues to rise, demand for personalisation and customization is also growing alongside a trend for casualwear and “mix and matching” brands, and overall collaborations still have a lot of influence especially online.
A number of the speakers shared new reports with detailed insights on China and global markets so here’s our hit list:
- KPMG Me, my life, my wallet – what’s really driving consumer’s decisions?
- BSR Disrupting Luxury Report 2018
- Ipsos World Luxury Tracking study 2018
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