Top luxury brands in China

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BMW was voted the top luxury brand by China's richest individuals, according to new research into the lifestyle of China 's emerging elite. Second came Louis Vuitton, followed by Mercedes-Benz and Rolex.

Analysis on Best of Best

BMW now the Top Luxury Brand for China's Richest

- BMW TOP LUXURY BRAND IN CHINA, FOLLOWED BY LOUIS VUITTON, MERCEDES-BENZ AND

ROLEX
- CHINA 'S RICH LEARNING TO ENJOY LIFE
- HURUN REPORT SURVEYS 604 MAINLAND CHINESE MILLIONAIRES

BMW was voted the top luxury brand by China's richest individuals, according to new research into the lifestyle of

China 's emerging elite. Second came Louis Vuitton, followed by Mercedes-Benz and Rolex. (Awards Dinners)

The research carried out by the Hurun Report,

China 's leading luxury business magazine, questioned 604 Mainland Chinese entrepreneurs with wealth of at least 10 million RMB on their lifestyle and spending habits.

Whilst BMW was the clear overall winner, the survey highlighted the growing sophistication levels of

China 's high net worth individuals with the likes of Giorgio Armani and Cartier also making the top ten. For Chinese women, Louis Vuitton was voted top luxury brand.

Rupert Hoogewerf, CEO of the Hurun Report said the 2007 findings suggest

China 's millionaires are taking their lifestyle more seriously, and are growing more sophisticated as a result. “In the past it was enough to have a Haier aircon unit, but now there is a class of Chinese that aspires to the best their Western counterparts have and that includes buying the most expensive brands and having more time to enjoy themselves.”

Top Ten Luxury Brands

1

 

BMW

 

2

 

Louis Vuitton

 

3

 

Mercedes-Benz

 

4

 

Rolex

 

5

 

Giorgio Armani

 

6

 

Ferrari

 

7

 

Rolls-Royce

 

8

Bentley

9

 

Cartier

 

10

 

Vacheron Constantin

 

“Luxury brands have only been around for a brief time in

China ,” says Hoogewerf. “For those who make their million, buying a luxury car and watch are the first symbols of success.”

 

China has a strong gift-giving culture, which – coupled with its fast-growing economy – makes it highly attractive to Western luxury brands. Chinese New Year is a prime gift buying time.

Chinese luxury brands
Whilst most of the winning brands are European, there were a handful of Chinese brands. Notable exceptions include China Merchants Bank (Best Bank for Personal Onshore Financial Services),

Tsinghua

University (Best EMBA Programme), Wuliangye (Best Chinese Spirits), Swellfun (Best Premium Chinese Spirits) and Zhonghua (Best Luxury Cigarette).

 

Lifestyle
Travel continues to be the favoured leisure activity of

China 's elite. 35 per cent of those interviewed said that travel was their number one hobby, followed by swimming (23 per cent) and golf (22 per cent). Interestingly spending time with the family ranked only seventh– coming even lower than tennis and climbing.

 

For China's luxury travellers, Australia was voted top followed by France and the

US . Domestically, Sanya with its beach resorts and luxury hotels, came top followed by Yunnan with its ethnic minority culture and

Hong Kong , the shopping destination.

 

New-found wealth and mobility means that travel, and in particularly international travel, is now high on the agenda for

China 's elite. As China 's entrepreneurs increasingly travel abroad on business they are learning more about luxury travel and the tastes of their overseas counterparts and want the same experiences for themselves. Countries such as

Australia who were quick to gain Approved Destination Status and have worked hard to simplify the visa application process for Chinese visitors will be major beneficiaries.

 

Educating the kids
The US is the preferred country for educating their children overseas. 18 per cent said they would like their children to study in the US, followed by the UK (12 per cent), Australia (11 per cent), Canada and

New Zealand .

 

Survey Methodology
Survey Methodology Between May and November 2006, Hurun Report surveyed 604 Mainland Chinese high net worth individuals (defined as with assets of over US$1 million), of which 191 had assets of over US$10 million. For the third year running, surveys were carried out on a one on one basis, making this the largest and most authorative survey of its kind in

China . The survey asked respondents for their ‘Preferred Brand' from a list of brands in each category together with an ‘Other' option at the end for brands not covered in the list. For the overall luxury brand, the question was open-ended. There were no options. The winner for each category was the brand with the most votes. Results compiled by Sinomonitor International, leading market researchers for

China .

 

Demographics of respondents
85% of respondents were male. The average age of respondents was 40 years. 24% have no university education. The geographical distribution of respondents was Shanghai (30 per cent), Zhejiang (15 per cent), Beijing (12 per cent), Guangdong (10 per cent), Shandong (9 per cent), North West China (7 per cent),

Jiangsu (6 per cent) and Others (12 per cent).

Source: Hurun Report 2007 Best of the Best Survey

http://www.hurun.net

January,

Shanghai .