Luxury Market in China Essay Example for Free

Luxury Market in China Essay China is positioned to become the world’s largest luxury market in five years and a study by Datamonitor reported China’s luxury goods market was worth $9. 4billion by the end of 2009, which accounted for 27. 5% of the world’s luxury goods market. [1] They also predict that by 2015, China’s market will be valued at $14. 6billion. The main driver of this growth in the luxury gods market is the extreme wealth creation that China has experiences in the past ten years as its GDP has grown 10% annually on average, which is three times more than the global GDP. Investment Week quotes a recent World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini stating that there are 477,000 Chinese millionaires and China is also leading the world with the number of billionaires (Investment week. [2]) The combination of the staggering growth of the Chinese economy creating such great private wealth and the political and social evolution China has gone through over the last 30 years has created a tidal wave of opportunity for luxury retailers. Politically, China has gone through many changes over the last thirty years that has primed the economy and citizens for a surge in individualism and the pride in the ability to afford and purchase luxury goods. In 1976 Mao Zedong passed away and in 1979 the One Child Policy was introduced and applied by China’s new leader, Deng Xiaoping. China’s population was growing at an alarming rate and in order to curb this growth rate, Chinese were limited to having one child per household. Fast-forward thirty years and these only children, who have been raised by 6 parents, has created a â€Å"little emperor† mentality where their every desire it met, and is recently being satiated by Western goods. They now have buying power and they are spending it on high priced goods. The choices and options available today are a stark contrast to the limitations their parents experienced thirty years prior in a vastly different political time. Socially, China has always been a country deeply embedded in traditions such as gift giving, saving face and the respect for the hierarchal society. These traditions all stem from â€Å"guanxi,† the all-important notion of relationships, which is what drives business and social status. The culture of relationships is paramount for being successful in China so the combination of mass wealth and the traditions all surrounding Guanxi has attributed to the exponential growth of the luxury market in China. Although the Chinese have been known to be a culture of saving, the tides have shifted and the 20-30 something’s have created a society of excessive spending due to extravagant purchases to support their new tastes as well as these traditions. The new breed of buyers are young and are embracing their freedom to purchase in their capitalistic society, which is a far cry from their parents socialist upbringing. Therefore both social and political changes have created this perfect storm of excess, which is fueling the luxury good market in China and for many years to come. Mao Zedong, the leader of China from 1949 until his death in 1976 is still regarded as a controversial figure but his rule and communist policies molded the beliefs of many parents and grandparents living in China today. Under Mao’s rule there was no individualism and consumption was controlled. Mao is regarded as a great leader in China as he is thought to have laid the groundwork for China becoming the great power that it is today as a result of his leadership of the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. While he did create the building blocks for present day China, he has been compared to communist leaders like Hitler and Stalin. He urged citizens to reject capitalism and even at one point â€Å"proposed the Socialist Education Movement (SEM) in an attempt to educate the peasants to resist the temptations of feudalism and the sprouts of capitalism that he saw re-emerging in the countryside. †[3] The citizens living in these times are now parents and while their lifestyles are very conservative, they are raising children in a very different political environment. Their children didn’t have a communist ruler and therefore have different views on modesty and consumption. While there is still a strict focus on studying and discipline, the focus on success and showing that you are successful has been morphed into an obsession with Western brands showing pride in ones accomplishments. Even as young children the Western culture is quite alluring, with children asking to be rewarded for good grades by going to McDonalds as we were told by one of the speakers. Today in China, people are who they wear. Even as Nicole from LVMH mentioned, the Chinese are obsessed with showing that they are wearing designer brands that you will see some wearing clothes and sunglasses with the tags still on them to show who the designer is. These â€Å"nouveau riche† are the products of parents who didn’t have any choices and now they are embarrassing their freedom to chose. Forbes reported â€Å"the average Chinese luxury consumer will spend roughly 11% of her income on luxury handbags along. †[4] They also go on to say that these consumers are â€Å"highly educated and highly motivated to identify products that will complement his or her individuality and rising power. †4 Parents of these kids weren’t allowed to have individuality, but now their children are not only wanting it but also seeking it with huge spending power. Spending 11% of your income on a luxury bag shows the emotional and mental bond to these luxury items. In the US simply to qualify for a loan for a mortgage, your total debt can’t be more than 45% of your income. To think that a quarter of that goes towards handbags alone not even included likely purchases like luxury cars, wines etc makes me think if this type of spending is going to be sustainable for the Chinese market. In China, there were many nice cars, but I didn’t think that perhaps these people are driving cars they can’t afford. I am used to the United States where living on credit is a way of life, but this takes it to a whole new level. The millionaires are able to afford this, but if a middle class person is spending such a high percentage of her income on something like handbags, its going to create an economy where nobody can afford to buy a house and retirement is never attainable. One of the Bentley students that sat with us at lunch mentioned that she wanted to buy a house but that she couldn’t without her parent’s financial support due to the 50%-70% down payment required. She and most young people are lucky that their parents have saved and will be able to help them, but for those in the younger generation who aren’t saving won’t be able to help their kids and there might be a whole future generation who can never afford to own property. These younger generations parents grew up in a communist and socialist society, where there isn’t the ability to care about status, but status and luxury has now become the currency in China. The millionaires in China are younger with an average age of 39. [5] These young millionaires enjoy showing their status with nice things from great bottles of wine, cars to handbags. They are achieving success and are looking to reward themselves with nice things, which also shows status among their peers. A report on the watch market, mentioned that men â€Å"need a watch of a certain quality to be part of the social circle. †[6] The need to show status and create a sense of belonging in a social group has become so apparent that retailers are taking notice and even creating products specifically for the Chinese buyer. Mercedes Benz is even making a car with a longer wheelbase for the Chinese businessmen who are chauffeured around and need to have more room in the back which is a big difference from the rest of the world where carmakers are creating smaller cars that consume less energy and are more economical. [7] The retailers and manufacturers of world are taking note that the new Chinese buyer is very different from their parents given all of the political changes of the past few decades. While the political changes are one factor in the shift of buying trends, policy has also been a great factor and one specifically is the One Child Policy, which was introduced in 1979. This policy has created what many call, the â€Å"Little Emperor† society as a result of one child being raised by 6 parents (on immediate and two sets of grandparents. ) These children have grown up being catered to and supported by six people and now their wants and needs are changing, as they get older. Where as their parents likely gave them the best they could afford, these 20 and 30 something’s are becoming obsessed with Western brands, which cost a premium. Even with a 30% import tax, individuals who grew up getting what they wanted are buying these Western luxury brands, at times spending their entire months salary on a handbag. Although their parents had a culture of saving, this new generation tastes for highly taxed Western goods to show status has greatly changed this cultural norm. For this generation to keep up with their friend, they have forgone the notion of saving in replacement of a life full of luxury goods with no savings. I spoke to Mico about this on the bus and she mentioned that her friends spend all of their money on luxury goods and there’s now a saying in Chinese that means that you spend all of your money that you make that month. She mentioned that buying fakes is a faux pas and that they only buy the real things, which is what leads to them spending all of their money. She noted that this was very different from the upbringing of her parents who were brought up saving almost 40% of their money. In the popular market that we went to in Shanghai, there were almost no Chinese in there and when we asked Mico if she went to the market to get knockoffs, she said that knockoffs’ were â€Å"so three years ago. † It quickly became apparent why That is there where Chinese people in the markets; they are in the real stores buying the real thing. In the streets it was quite apparent that everyone had designer bags and clothing on, but this was mainly in Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou. In Xi’an there was still a feeling of communism, everything was still grey and there weren’t many people sporting their designer clothes. The opportunity right now is in the 1s tier cities and many retailers are trying to expand to the 2nd and 3rd tier cities. The opportunity in China purely based on the enormous populations in these cities. The first focus for the retailers were the tier 1 cities and now the 2nd and 3rd tier cities will be paramount for companies to sustain this continued growth. While political changes have made way for the change in buying and spending trends of young Chinese buyers, tradition has maintained an important part of the culture across all generations of Chinese and the luxury market surge has been fueled by these traditions. Guanxi, the focus on relationships as part of the Chinese culture has many components, one of which is the value of gift giving as a sign of respect. Gift giving is a huge part of Chinese culture, most prominent around the Chinese New Year, but a very large part of life socially and professionally year round. According to the authors of the book â€Å"The Cult of the Luxury Brand,† â€Å"quanxi†¦is the single biggest factor spurring the growth of luxe in China. †[8] When you give a gift to someone in China, it means you are thanking him or her for helping you but also solidifies your â€Å"guanxi† with them and continues the future relationship. Luxury items are now raising the bar in gift giving as recipients truly appreciate the luxury gifts and merchants have reported â€Å"frantic levels of spending† 8 all at once by shoppers who are looking to purchase gifts for their business partners and friends. The culture of saving face plays into this as well since the more luxurious the gift, the better. If you are looking to show great gratitude and â€Å"save face† then you will purchase a luxury item as a gift. In business face is extremely important so even Western brands are also learning this culture of gift giving, as they know the importance of partners in their business so they are making sure to take care of them by giving great gifts. In addition to the culture of gift giving that has fueled the luxury market growth, the culture of hierarchal respect has also attributed to this. Many Chinese of the younger generation believe that luxury products â€Å"mark where you have traveled up to but they also give you permission to continue succeeding. †[9] In a culture where you are competing with so many people and success is so important, it’s easy to see how luxury products represent achieving a certain social status and also denotes the fact that you will stay in that status. As Nicole from LVMH was speaking to us she noted that there are usually 40-50 students in each classroom. Students from an early age learn to be one in a large crowd, but as they get older and look to prove to the world what they have accomplished, and they use designer goods to reflect their status. The irony of this is that one would think that after growing up being one in a crowd, one would think that they would want to show status and individuality, but the items they purchase to show their status is exactly what their peers have chosen, which is likely a Louis Vuitton handbag. For instance, although it was quite conducive to the weather, when we were in China, every single person had Ugg boots on. In the US while Ugg is a popular brand, there are many more brands being worn, as there are many more tastes expressed by individuals. It was very interesting to see that there was a proliferation of a small number of brands, namely Louis Vuitton, as I came to quickly realize that the Chinese want to wear brands that are recognizable. While they are moving towards a more individualistic society, their tendency to be one of a group is still quite prominent. They do value the luxury brands to show status, but their need to be part of a group, albeit a high status group, is still quite unmistakable in the sea of Gucci and Louis Vuitton purses that were worn like a badge of honor by the women of China. The trip to China was quite eye-opening form the perspective of a Westerner who is used to a more modest lifestyle with an abundance of variety. The flashy cars and purses were immediately apparent from Beijing through Shanghai, but as I sit here thinking about the political and social changes that China has gone through in the past few decades, I only with I was smart enough to somehow capitalize on this. China is a fascinating country to visit given its great history and culture that is evident today, but it’s also great to have visited a country that is still going through many changes and evolving at such a rapid rate. While the rest of the world is clearly evolving, China is doing so at an exponentially quicker rate than most and that was quite clear with the sea of cranes in every city putting up buildings everywhere. I do believe that culture will always be a part of the Chinese people and lifestyle, but it will be interesting to see when this locomotive of luxury obsession begins to ebb or if China will meet its own credit crunch in the coming years given the drastic change in spending habits that the younger generations have adopted. [1] Chinese appetite for premium products growing despite slowing economic activity. Datamonitor July 20010, English ed. : 16. Print. [2] Andrea Gerst and Scilla Huang Sun, â€Å"China’s passion for luxury goods increases,† Investment Week, September 6, 2010. [3] â€Å"Cultural China,†http://history. cultural-china. com/en/46H9449H13452. html [4] Evelyn Rusli, â€Å"What Chinese Shoppers Want,† Forbes, March 8, 2010. [5] Andrea Gerst and Scilla Huang Sun, â€Å"China’s passion for luxury goods increases,† Investment Week, September 6, 2010. [6] Florent Bondoux, â€Å"Luxury watches find booming market in China,† Media, September 10, 2009, 17. [7] â€Å"Lengthened Mercedes-Benz E-Class to hit Chinese shores† http://www. benzinsider. com/2010/04/lengthened-mercedes-benz-e-class-to-hit-chinese-shores/ [8] â€Å"China Luxury,† http://app1. hkicpa. org. hk/APLUS/0710/p24_29. pdf [9] â€Å"Is Chinas Luxury Goods Market a Pot of Gold for Marketers? † Knowledge at Wharton, assessed July 27, 2007, http://english. cri. cn/2946/2007/07/27/[emailprotected] htm.

To Pursue Dreams :: Graduate Admissions Essays

To Pursue Dreams I was born and raised in a rural community in the Appalachian Mountains. Most of the local people work at farms, factories, or mills. Education is not deemed terribly important, since even a high school education is of little practical value. My mom dropped out of high school because she was pregnant, and has been a factory seamstress for fifty years. My father dropped out after 8th grade because his own father ran out on his family, leaving him to have to work. He has been a welder in a steel mill my whole life. They expected that my scholastic career would be roughly similar to theirs. My own goals, however, were much higher: I wanted to go to college -- and not just any college. I wanted to go to a really good one. I thought that a higher education was my ticket to a better life than my parents had, and so I focused on college with a driven passion. My "dream" schools included the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern, Dartmouth, and Brown. I made lists and charts, and papered the walls of my room with pictures and statistics of these four institutions. The evening I received my SAT score (1300), my parents came home from work and I ran out to tell them that I might be able to get into one of my top choices for college. Though my head was in the clouds, my parents had their feet very firmly planted on the ground. They asked me if I knew what kind of kids went to "those" schools. Hesitating, I said, "...not really." My mother explained how the kids who went to "those" schools were wealthy and well-educated, with lots of "connections" that would help them get into college. She told me that I was neither rich nor terribly smart, and thus should consider schools that were "more my speed". I got applications for UNC-Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, and UNC-Asheville the next day. My father looked only at the UNC-Asheville booklet and said that it looked nice. My mother agreed, saying that I had finally chosen one school that I possibly could attend "in reality." My mother wouldn't even read the application booklet for Penn. My father snorted angrily if I so much as mentioned Northwestern. I was crushed. I began to wonder if my dream schools were just that: a fanciful dream.

Coastal Managment

A coastal environment (Small/Regional Scale) the processes affecting this coast, Its landforms and Its management Key Questions from the GEESE syllabus: Key Questions from the GEESE syllabus: Why do coastal processes need to be managed? How are coastlines managed? Why does coastal management create controversy? The Forth-Hymnals coastline Is an area currently undergoing a major change In the way It Is managed. Your task is to find out: 1. A description of the location of this stretch of coastline 2. What coastal features are found along this stretch of coastline 3.What management strategies are being developed 4. Why they are being developed 5. Collect a set of specific facts about the management strategies 6. Who will benefit from the new strategies 7. Who will be disadvantaged by the new strategies Your research must have all of this information, as the exam board may ask a case study question on any of the above aspects of this case study. You will be writing a timed Case Study an swer following this work, which will only use part of your research information: For a named area of coastline, describe the management strategies being used and explain how different groups of people will be affected.Your work will be assessed using the case study Mark scheme My Hymnals Coastal management Case Study 1) A description of the location of this stretch of coastline Site Location – The site location on the beach on the seaward side of lower forth village Hymnals is located In Wales 8 miles (1 3 km) north of Abernathy and It Is 1. 5 miles north of forth. The Hymnals coast line stretches over 2 miles and Is located In the county of Correction . Hymnals is situated right next to a number of small towns and is unconnected to the main road the AAA. ) What coastal features are found along this stretch of coastline To the north of this coast lies a large estuary with a embryonic split occurring towards the mouth of the estuary. A spit is formed from alongshore drift movi ng material along the beaches and the material is deposited and overtime the spit forms a right angle shape 4. Waves cannot get past a spit, which creates a extends about km from the southern side of the defy estuary. The main line of the spit is formed by gravels that are exposed at high water level along the southern part f the spit. 3) What management strategies are being developed?Work began early autumn 2010. The aim of Correction council is to protect the beaches from erosion and flooding and the surrounding communities. On cardigan bay there are around 1500 homes and about 7000 to protect from the natural elements of living near to and visiting the coast. Forth village has developed on a mobile shingle beach with many properties built on the beach, this means it is more vulnerable to flooding. Wooden Grosses Grosses protect against alongshore drift and backwash which means the beach will be fee from erosion and the beach material being washed downer by alongshore drift.In the ass's Correction county council built some wooden grosses and breastwork defenses however they have recently been deemed as coming to the end of their life and there then was a further need for protection of the km frontage. Rock Grosses Constructed near the Craig y Delay cliffs to the south of forth. Grosses do not add extra material to a beach, but merely retain some of the existing sediment on the updraft side of the grosses At the southern end Another strategy to protect against erosion from the waves the council built a series of onshore rock breakwater grosses. The grosses are mm long each Greene is followed by a breakwater.The rock grosses are made of rock obviously and commonly are basalt. â€Å"Two rock grosses and two rock breakwaters will be placed at intervals along the beach, and these will retain the shingle, in much the same way as the timber grosses do now. † – Correction council The present coastal defenses were designed in the sass, and the timber gr osses and breastworks directly fronting the village were constructed in stages urine the early sass's, with the grosses reducing the alongshore drift of sediment, and the breastwork providing a back stop to protect the shingle bank on which so much of Forth has been founded.The Multi-Purpose Reef The multi-purpose reef is located mm offshore which will be unobstructed and only to be seen when the shore is out. The idea is that the waves brake over the reef which will reduce the energy in the waves so they arrive at the beach with less force therefore reducing the amount of erosion and to encourage the development of a broader beach inshore. The reef has been created to protect the shingle beach from erosion however it has created a better surfing facility and so encouraging surfers to the area.Beach Nourishment â€Å"Sand and shingle will be placed on the beach to increase its width. This will provide Forth Village with more protection from incoming waves, as waves will be breaking further offshore and they will therefore have a wider beach over which their energy is released. † – Correction council Beach nourishment took place along all of the lower forth village frontage. The shingle was imported and placed along the village frontage to create a stable beach.Along the village frontage , the aim was to create and sustain a shingle beer with a minimum crest width of mm. Multipurpose reef – The reasons behind the construction of the multipurpose reef is to encourage the waves to brake on the reef and so losing their energy out offshore so when they reach the beach they have little energy therefore minimizing the chance of erosion by hydrophilic action.Another benefit of the reef is that it provides a very good surfing facility as it acts to focus and shape the waves to improve curability. The final aim of the reef was to encourage a wider beach inshore which is nether coast protection component. Beach Rock Grosses and Rock Breakwaters They placed to rock Grosses and two break waters in intervals along the beach which will stop long shore drift and protect the shingle beach the same as the timber ones but obviously much more durable.Beach Nourishment Sand and shingles will be bought by Correction council and deposited on the beach to extend its width. This therefore will increase the protection of Forth village from the incoming waves as they will be breaking further offshore and also have more beach for the waves to break their energy down on. 5. Collect a set of specific facts about the management strategies See within questions three and four 6.Who will benefit from the new strategies There are many people who will benefit for example The Locals It has become evident throughout my research that there is a main concern concerning this locals and the protection of their homes and businesses. All the protection elements of the scheme aim to protect against the erosion of the beaches which would eventually get further i nland and destroy their homes. Tourists The beach nourishment means that there is a wider beach therefore making it deter for tourists as there will be more room for more people and the beach will be more appealing to them.Also the construction of the multi purpose reef means there is a better surf facility for surfer visiting the forth coastline. Entrepreneurs of Forth and Hymnals Inevitably the Attraction of tourists to the beaches will benefit the local shop owners and restaurant owners and also holiday makers as there will be more people interested in visiting forth and hymnals because of the better coast conditions and so therefore more people to spend money in the local businesses

The Characters and Events of the Chronicles of Narnia the...

Midterm Research Paper Thesis Statement: The characters and events of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe have symbolic similarities to events described in the Bible. In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe we discover a world of fantasy filled with the never-ending battle between good and evil. The children in the story, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy lived in London during the war and were sent to live with a professor because of the air-raids. The children quickly find a wardrobe, which is actually a passageway into the land of Narnia. Unbeknownst to them they are the son’s of Adam and the daughter’s of Eve that according to a prophecy will restore peace to Narnia and do away†¦show more content†¦She immediately senses Edmund’s jealousy and utilizes it to entrap the other three children. She offers Edmund anything he wants, he asks for Turkish delights, which she in turn delivers. She then tells him that he could be king and his siblings will be his servants, which is extremely appealing to Edmund. Edmund agrees to deliver his siblings and thus betrays them for worldly desires. â€Å"Edmund’s greed gets the better of his judgment; Proverbs 23: 1-3 cautions, when you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive† (Ditchfield 51). Unfortunately due to Edmund’s treason the Witch confronts Aslan and claims her right to Edmund’s blood as described in the laws (Deep Magic) of Narnia. â€Å"As a traitor Edmund stands condemned† (Ditchfield 62). This is also the case in the Bible; â€Å"All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law† (Romans 2:12). Another Biblical text explains, â€Å"Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness† (Hebrews 9:22). The White Witch warns Aslan of the consequences of ignoring the laws of Narnia. â€Å"If this is not accomplished, Narnia will be destroyed with fire and water, which immediately reminds biblically literate readers of Noah’s flood and the prophesied final destruction of the Earth by fire† (Hinten 18). Edmunds sin can’t go unpunished and the penalty isShow MoreRelatedJourney The Wardrobe Of Parallels1054 Words   |  5 PagesJourney the Wardrobe of Parallels The â€Å"Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe† is a fantasy novel written by C. S. Lewis. The fairytale is set in a magical world with no limits to the imagination. Endangered by World War II, four siblings named Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy where sent by their mom to live with Professor Kirke in a big house in the countryside of London. In the house there are many rooms and many doors. While playing hide-in-seek, the youngest child, Lucy discovers