Emily and I were talking the other day about how the culture of cities like Singapore and Hong Kong is extremely brand-conscious, much more so than even the US. Maybe it’s just us, but it seems many Asian high-end consumers are more concerned with status symbols than fashion statements.
In fact, I recently read how Prada’s Chairman and Gucci’s CEO claimed that Asia is their number one market. “The top luxury market is with Asian customers today,” said Prada’s Deputy Chairman Carlo Mazzi. So despite all the fake stuff you see sold on the streets, sales in China contributed the most to the Italian company’s revenue for the first half of this year. Even the CEO of PPR, which owns the Gucci brand, admitted that China is the biggest market for their luxury line.
Seems like fobs might be even more materialistic than Americans. Or maybe Emily and I have just been hanging around too many granola-eating, Prius-driving, Etsy-buying San Franciscans…
