Guangzhou (CNS) -- Dense high-end commercial centers and the influence of first class international brands have raised the business profile in Guangzhou and stimulated local purchase power over luxury items, according to local insiders.
Guangzhou residents have long been regarded as low-key gourmets rather than consumers of trendy clothing, while convenient access to diversified choices in Hong Kong kept the local luxury market from heating up. However, increased traffic recently at high-end shopping malls has revealed a huge potential lying beneath that calm surface.
According to Huang Wenjie, executive chairman of the provincial Chamber of Commerce of Circulation Industries, local purchase power has been strengthened by residents from outside Guangzhou frequently consuming in the city. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has become less popular as a shopping destination for Guangzhou residents.
In 2010 alone, local luxury consumers spent over 70,000 yuan per capita, he said.
Annual sales at La Perle, a mall focused on international top brand collections, reached 800 million yuan in 2010. According to its deputy manager, that number is growing steadily at 20% per year, with the main attractions being attire and leather products.
On September 23, TaiKoo Hui, the second high-end mall in town, opened for business and embraced large crowds at counters for big brands.
According to a consumer surnamed Zhang, a long queue is not a rare scene in a luxury store in Guangzhou. In order to receive one-on-one service, she once bought a bag for 100,000 yuan. However, she was a little hesitant on the opening day of TaiKoo Hui, saying that prices there are less competitive compared to overseas stores or those in Hong Kong.
Some netizens blogged pictures of their purchases on Weibo. One tagged her red Hermes handbag with "travel," while another self-proclaimed "shopping maniac" swept up nine bags and watches worth more than a million yuan.
