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Mirror Mirror on the Wall. Who's the Most Materialistic of Them All? China?
According to the People’s Daily Online- quoting Robert Polet, CEO of the Gucci Group, “China will replace the U.S. as the world’s second largest luxury goods market this year…” Who’s the largest consumer of luxury goods you may ask? Good question- there’s a mix of writers and reporters with varying things to say on who is number one. Some say North America- other’s claim Western Europe as the savviest and most materialistic when it comes to things expensive; however, according to this Chinese-centric website- last year, 2008, “the wealthy from Chinese mainland purchased one quarter of the world’s luxury goods.”
Their reasons? Read below. Most probably converted from Chinese to English, it may have read better in Chinese? And my English sucks anyways, but their premise is simple- one- the newly wealthy in China; two- the Chinese luxury goods buyer is loyal to brands (at least this is how I’m interpreting anyway…) and three- the rich kids in China can afford the goods with their parents money.
The third point, I may add, applies to any and every nation where parents have lots of money- and is not “exclusive” to the Chinese.
(Bad puns totally intended.)
Courtesy of the People’s Daily Online, Published Today:
Chinese customers are young and have strong consumption potential for the world's luxury brands. According to relevant statistics, Chinese customers purchased 60 percent of their luxury goods when they traveled overseas. "Traveling abroad has become the important factor boosting luxury goods consumption."
According to Liu Jinshan, director of the Economics Department of Jinan University, three factors accounted for the upward trends in luxury goods consumption in China. Firstly, there is a group of newly affluent people who seek high-level and personalized goods. Secondly, they set an example for huge numbers of white collar workers who are acting as loyal slaves to the luxury brands. Thirdly, children of these rich families can afford the high-end products with their parents’ financial support.
As for the development trend of China's luxury goods market, insiders estimate that Chinese people will spend up to 14.6 billion U.S. dollars on luxury goods in the next five years, marking China's status as the world's largest luxury goods market.
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THE CHINESE LOVE THE BRANDS BABY! .
I think it's a little simpler than that.
China's population: 1,325,639,982 - 2008
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators
US population: 304,059,724 - Jul 2008
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
China now has 825,000 individuals possessing wealth of more than 10 million yuan, including 51,000 people with more than 100 million yuan, according to luxury publishing group Hurun Report.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-04/16/content_7682156.htm
1 U.S. dollar = 6.82822241 Chinese yuan
Materialism as a percentage of population? Not so much.
Want real wealth? Move to China.... But before you do understand the difference between national and local governments. It's very different from the US and the key to success in China.
i know this issue is a bit more complex (or simple as you say) than my little sardonic comment implies. however, materialism and wealth are not necessarily synonymous, nor do government structures have anything to do with luxury brand identification.
Want real wealth? Move to China.... But before you do understand the difference between national and local governments. It's very different from the US and the key to success in China.
They're both equally as corrupt.
The key to success with that Third World country is to keep them and their influence out of the First World.
China ruxuly good malket = countelfeit
you obviously have never been to china, trav. most chinese can pick out a counterfeit in three seconds & one touch. but then, you're rather comfy in your big bad stupid china worldview, aren't ya?
Confucius say, foor and money go to aChina
Agree with tip. Just came back from China and they want to own the real thing and have income stream and savings to acquire such goods.
Confucius say, lound eye velly easiry confused by facade of city rike aShanghai and B'jing...aChina have one birrion peasants no have nofing
We must be reminded of one child rule...the offspring have disposable dollars...and hate everything made in China...;-) The parents are degenerate gamblers!!
Hey Market Truth
I absolutely agree that the Chinese will/have become a huge business force and a consumer nation that has just been awakened to the concept of consumerism.
I only hope that we are savvy enough to service this need with products and ideas.
Those people who have ventured to Toronto Canada and settled here; Welcome. Polite, well educated, Courteous, culture with the same family values that we have. DO better for the sake of our family and children.
I am personally pleased to have [them] move to Toronto.
David Pylyp
Living in Toronto
No.
Thats not really true.
The newly affluent there are eagerly acquiring 'bragging rights'.
Most of them are such dumbasses, you could open a retail outlet and sell them Michael Jordan's turd.
Oooooo.......... looky here, I got me a piece of Michael Jackson's turd for sale.
hahahaha
sun sue say, blind man afraid to look in mirror
Confucius say, onry dumbshit not now how asperr Sun Tzu and tark about aChina...him trury brind
sun sue say, arrogant ignorant american be pounding railroad spikes across mongolia in no time as chinese businessman drive by in ferrari. meanwhile world burns.
Trav777 is obviously a Chinese American or an American who has been to China and knows where to poke fun. In fact, I'll bet I know just which Travis this is.
I'll never forget the experience of being in a high end Hong Kong department store on a Sunday (the only day of the weekend) watching the way the locals were drawn to buying anything with a designer label. No suggestion these things were fake, but it was amazing the shit people were buying and how everyone was almost drunk on shopping.
My view, the Chinese are the most inherently consumerist/ materialistic/ obsessed with having something other people don't have of any nation, despite it being suppressed under the current regime. This aspect of the Chinese character was what worried Confucius 2,500 years ago and it worries the hell out of me today.
When I worked at a Chinese university a few years ago, I lived across the street from the campus in a housing compound where other faculty also resided. Gate-to-gate was about 200m, but some of these profs would drive over just so they could be seen on campus with their cars. I kid you not.
Heh heh
It only proves the newly affluent Chinese have been seduced by the marketing of brand consciousness.
And now they are acting on their impulse to consume and busily acquiring a nice and unhealthy (sooner or later) credit card balance.
Welcome to what was the American Consuming Dream.
Good luck with that happy future.
Just like the Japanese, they only want what's foreign. This will go down as another generational identity theft as global pop culture conformity ensues.
Confucius say's, anyone know who the fuck I am anymore?
French girls, they want Cartier, Italian girls want cars, Amercian girls want everything in the world you can possibly imagine.
Who sang it?
uuuh... that would be the glimmer twins waterboy...-)
Yes it was
The People's Republic of Desire, a novel by Annie Wang...
Meh. The most materialistic of all is probably YOU, whoever is reading this right now.
Your consciousness. I own it. HEH
-MobBarley
Confucius say: Pillopino girrl rittle braun rucking macheen, chinee girrl rittle yellow cash register.....
Can someone delete the Anonymous comment above me? Is there any mods on this site? the LFBM comment doesn't belong here...
Materialistic, yes, but STFW? Who ain'? But at least when they buy their Prada and Louis vuitton crap, are paying cash & not adding it to their credit card debt.
Except that Chinese-bought luxury goods are really just fall-apart knockoffs. The joke's on them for allowing such lax protections to happen in their country.
Most not funny- and most somewhat offensive.
If this was a thread about certain "protected" groups, this would not fly.
But there is a first amendment and a second amendment to make sure you have the first.
Shows the Chinese do not need protection- or tread on the freedoms of the first amendment.
Good for them.
It would serve all of us to understand the freedoms we have.
Arabs in the 1970's, Japanese in the 1980's, Americans for the next 2 decades (on borrowed money), welcome Mr. Chin. Who's next??
I lived in HK and Singapore for the past 4 years, only moved back to the US this year. The amount of materialism there is absurd. For those who think it is bad in certain places in the US like southern California it is nothing compared to places like HK and Singapore. Out there they TRULY believe that the more expensive things you own the "better" you are. It is not even a hidden belief, they will openly say it. Since I was an expat there a lot of people were curious about what I earned and strangers would just openly ask me - like people working in stores, taxi drivers, etc. And for those who don't think they are taking on a lot of debt you are crazy, in Singapore it is common for people to buy things on monthly installments. In fact when I bought a television there the clerk was surprised that I was just paying for the entire thing at once. To me that was normal, but most people out there buy those things on monthly installments. In fact there is even a local movie that pokes fun at that fact. They have a lot of consumer debt in Singapore, but there is no central credit bureau so measuring it is virtually impossible.
Chinese puff piece. Of course they're going to say something good about China, a nation of thugs that make junk.
having parents spend their money on their kids is not exclusive to china. that is true. not to nitpick here, but i think the main point is that the one-child policy is pretty much exclusive to china. if a kid has two parents and 4 grandparents and no siblings to share gifts, it's no surprise his (and his is more likely than her here) spending power is astronomical.