The Bling Dynasty (E-Book) von Erwan Rambourg

Acknowledgments ix

About the Author xi

List of Terms xiii

Foreword xv

Introduction: The New Silk Road xvii

Part 1: West Goes East 1

Chapter 1: Eastern Promises, Delivered 3

Chapter 2: The Only Way Is Up 31

Chapter 3: Another French Paradox 53

Chapter 4: Deconstructing the Myth 75

Part 2: East Goes West 93

Chapter 5: The Trouble with Travel 95

Chapter 6: Why Chinese Travel and Where To 107

Part 3: East Meets East 141

Chapter 7: Are Chinese Brands a Threat to Western Models? 143

Part 4: The World Meets 161

Chapter 8: Pop Culture, Value for Money and Globalisation 163

Chapter 9: The Chinese Luxury Empire 183

Chapter 10: All In: Coach, Apple and the Cosmetic Surgeon 197

Conclusion: The Bling Supremacy 211

Epilogue: What Is True Luxury? 213

Appendix A: Luxury Goods Basics 219

Appendix B: China Statistics 225

Index 227

The media has negatively focused on the Chinese political administration clamping down on gifting. Observers have come to doubt the strength of Chinese consumption as the key driver for luxury.The Bling Dynasty illustrates how doubts about Chinese consumption are ill-founded and Chinese luxury demand is on the cusp of becoming dominant.

This book contains the research and expert views companies need to understand and address the new challenges posed by this dominance. Each chapter brings a different perspective, covering complex aspects of luxury consumption, with illustrations and real-world examples that support the research. Readers will gain insights through interviews with brand executives, retailers, experts, and consumers.

As an economic heavyweight, China is fast realizing its role in the luxury market. Chinese consumers should be accounting for more than a third of the global luxury market today, and half, if not more, in ten year's time.The Bling Dynasty runs counter to the conventional wisdom that expanding sectors become more global. Luxury is actually becoming over-dependent on Chinese sales.

Readers will:

• Understand how Western brands developed in Asia and the challenges they are met with, notably ubiquity
• Learn why Chinese are purchasing luxury items abroad and what it means for the future of the sector
• Gain insights on why there are no Chinese luxury brands challenging Western models
• Realize that Chinese consumers are becoming similar to their American peers and that luxury competition goes way beyond pre-conceptions

China's big spenders are increasingly mobile and this is affecting key markets.The Bling Dynasty provides new research and a comprehensive look at the booming business of luxury and the Chinese wallet.

ERWAN RAMBOURG is a managing director at HSBC in Hong Kong and the co-head of Global Consumer& Retail Equity Research. He has been a top-ranked analyst covering the luxury and sporting goods sectors for the bank for the past ten years. Rambourg joined HSBC in 2005 after working for eight years as a marketing manager in the luxury industry, notably for Richemont and LVMH. He is regularly featured in theWall Street Journal and theFinancial Times and appears on CNBC and Bloomberg. Rambourg grew up in New York and has lived and worked in Paris and London. In 2011, he moved to Hong Kong.