Luxury customers get picky
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Choosier Chinese
She wants bags or clothes that fit "her status, temperament and character," said Myra Liu.
"I will not blindly buy a bag with a big logo," she said. "I'd like to choose a brand of a certain taste that I appreciate."
It used to be a common sight to see young Chinese women sporting Louis Vuitton bags designed for middle-aged women, Liu said.
She will not spend as lavishly as before. "The money I spend on luxury consumption each year accounts for 10 percent of my salary together with my husband," Liu said.
"I won't overdraw my purse like before."
The couple's total annual income is about 500,000 yuan ($75,250).
Status and style
"Chinese consumers' tastes have improved, and become more rational, and they purchase brands catering to their own style," said Yan Jun, president of Ecole Fashion and Luxury Consulting (Beijing).
"Previously for most Chinese consumers, luxury simply meant wealth, and people couldn't distinguish between different brands," said Yu Menghan, an editor with fashion magazine SELF.
They have developed knowledge of brands in a short time and can now appreciate the brands' "design spirit and style" - not just the logo - according to Yu.
If Chinese consumers really are becoming pickier, then luxury companies better not expect fast, easy profits as they expand, an industry watcher warned.
"The luxury makers should not think Chinese consumers will just buy whatever they offer," said Yan Jun of Ecole Fashion and Luxury Consulting (Beijing). "They each have their special and independent requirements.
"If the brand makers don't do enough market research,and simply bet on grabbing an easy slice of a developing mass market, they will lose out." For example, luxury goods consumers are younger in China than in the West, and their perspective is different, Yan said.
"Chinese will not be loyal to certain brands anymore," Yan said. "They make their own judgments."
As more brands crowd the domestic market, several brands with an undifferentiated image may meet challenges, the Bain research report speculated.
As for Myra Liu, shopping is as important as wearing luxury brands. "I'd like to de-cide myself, based on my understanding of certain brands," she said. "I'd like to choose the brands rather than being force-fed like before."
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