Unique designer goods make their mark
Luxury brands are being shunted aside by shoppers as unique designer goods make their mark
For China’s young fashionistas the appeal of shopping malls seems to have lost its gloss, clogged up as they are with shops selling luxury brands that seem to be barely distinguishable from one another. These shoppers are now switching to multibrand boutiques with wares more in line with their personal tastes.
These shops have grown rapidly over the past decade, offering unique designer pieces, and at a fraction of the price of the big-brand items.
Shanghai has the most multibrand fashion boutiques, 69, followed by Beijing, 56, and Guangzhou, 27, a report by the China Commercial Property Research Center said in 2015.
Unlike luxury goods customers, these shoppers buy for themselves rather than for others and they are barely affected by widespread economic cooling, the report suggests. With strong personal taste and judgment, they are also less prone to go on overseas shopping sprees, it said.
“The designer brands, with their unique style, good prices and quality, are exactly what shoppers need today,” says Iris Xu, a partner in the fashion boutique Any Shop Style, who used to work in public relations for the French cosmetics company L’Oreal. The store now works with about 300 designers, Xu says.
“These are people who are fashionable and well-educated. They travel frequently and are open minded. They are capable of buying luxury brands, but they are also open to buying new brands.
“Any Shop Style doesn’t just consider how well-known a designer is; We rely on sales figures to decide whether this is the right choice for our store.”
Ridingonitsprevioussuccess,thestore recently opened a new outlet in Beijing that sells designer jewelry.
Lane Crawford, an upscale multibrand fashion boutique with branches in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, combines fashion with art and music to create what it says is a unique shopping ambience. The store also has personal stylists who provide consulting services.
Customers who used to rely on the top luxury brands are now opening up to the new designer brands, says Irene Lau, China vice president of Lane Crawford.
“That’s what our stylists are there for. Thanks to their guidance, customers are getting to know more emerging brands, and we are happy to be playing a role in educating the market.”
Thesestoreshavealsobecomeahotbed for emerging designers.
Lane Crawford offers more than 1,000 designer brands ranging from womenswear, menswear, cosmetics, jewelry and homeware. It also has exclusive crossover collaborations with the designers.
Through the Created in China project it has introduced to the markets brands such as Ms MIN, Comme Moi, Helen Lee,