中國：奢侈品牌新的試金石

????中國的消費者年輕又雄心勃勃，對未來充滿希望。他們不怕失業，工資每年上漲10-15%。如果要找一個市場來做奢侈品制造商的產品“試金石”，還有哪里比中國更合適？

????本周五，法國奢侈品制造商開云集團（Kering，原名PPR）首席執行官弗朗克斯-亨利?皮諾特在成都的財富全球論壇上表示，開云旗下的品牌，包括古馳（Gucci）、Alexander McQueen、巴黎世家（Balenciaga）和Stella McCartney越來越傾向于把中國視為服飾領域新創意的“試驗基地”。開云幾年前進入中國市場。隨著中國經濟的騰飛，該公司的業務也實現了指數級增長：2005年中國有5家古馳專賣店，現在則有71家。

????皮諾特說：“奢侈品并非僅與歐洲有關。它是傳統、文化以及工藝的結合。幾百年來，中國文化對世界其他地區的影響一直都非常大?！倍?，由于中國消費者在年輕時就開始購買高端產品，他們一生購買奢侈品的時間將是美國和歐洲消費者的兩倍。

????這凸顯了中國消費者在各行各業不斷增長的影響力，不僅是奢侈品領域。對于任何想要在全球市場取得成功的公司來說，中國市場是它們必須首先攻克的陣地。這也是財富全球論壇本場分論壇的主題：贏在中國市場。

????與皮諾特同臺發言的還有英國廣告巨擘WPP集團首席執行官蘇銘天爵士。WPP的營銷和公關業務遍及全球，聯合利華（Unilever）、寶潔（P&G）、福特（Ford）等重量級跨國公司都是它的客戶。中國是WPP的第三大市場，僅次于美國和英國，而且正在快速增長。

????蘇銘天注意到，外國品牌和中國本土品牌在中國市場的競爭正不斷升溫。前者剛剛進入中國時往往對本土市場了解甚少，定價頗高。而中國本土品牌的價格近年來正逐步上升，他們的顯著優勢在于更了解中國的消費者。

????蘇銘天說：“外界經常把中國和廉價制造品以及山寨關聯起來。事實并非如此。實際上，中國公司已經開始了解到品牌的重要性?！?/p>

????這意味著，要捕獲13億中國消費者的心，外國公司要更加努力。蘇銘天強調，中國公司正在全球大肆收購，比如收購了美國最大的豬肉生產商，這種“走出去”的戰略將會讓全球市場爭奪戰變得更加激烈。他指出：“中國公司來勢洶洶，不可小覷?！?/p>

????顯然，全世界的公司都把中國市場視為一座潛在的金礦，但只有和快速變化的中國文化保持同步，才有機會獲得成功。（財富中文網）

????譯者：Charlie

????Chinese consumers are young, ambitious, and hopeful about the future. They have no fear of losing their jobs, and they get raises of 10%-15% each year. What better place for a luxury goods manufacturer to test its wares?

????Francois-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering (formerly PPR), told an audience at the Fortune Global Forum in Chengdu, China on Friday that his company's brands, which include Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, and Stella McCartney, are increasingly turning to China as a testing ground for new ideas in apparel and accessories. The luxury holding company has had a presence in China for years and it's grown exponentially as China's economy has exploded: In 2005, Gucci had 5 stores in China. Today it has 71.

????"Luxury is not about Europe," Pinault said. "Luxury is linked to tradition, culture, and craftsmanship. Chinese culture has been very influential in the rest of world for centuries." Moreover, because Chinese consumers are buying high-end products at such a young age, their lifetime in the luxury market is twice as long as Kering has seen it with U.S. and European customers.

????This underscores the growing power of the Chinese consumer across all industries, not just luxury. To succeed in the global market, companies must first succeed in China. The theme of this panel was how to achieve that success.

????Pinault was joined on the stage by Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of the British advertising giant WPP, which owns marketing and public relations agencies around the globe and counts multinational giants like Unilever, P&G and Ford among its clients. China is WPP's third-largest market behind the U.S. and the U.K., and it's growing fast.

????Sorrell has observed a heated battleground in China between foreign brands, which often enter the country with very little knowledge of the local markets and at a high price point, and the increasingly important Chinese brands. China's own brands are gradually climbing up in price, and they have the distinct advantage of having the awareness of the Chinese consumer.

????"There is a mythology that China is about cheap manufacturing and stealing intellectual property," Sorrell said. "That's not the reality. The reality is that Chinese companies are beginning to understand the importance of branding."

????That means it will be harder for foreign companies to capture the hearts of the 1.3 billion Chinese consumers. Sorrell emphasized that China's acquisition strategy -- Chinese companies are buying up firms all over the world, including America's largest pork producer -- is only going to exacerbate this battle for global market share in all industries. "Chinese companies are going to be very aggressive," he said.

????China's market is clearly seen as a potential gold mine for companies all over the globe, but only those that can keep up with its fast-changing culture will have any chance of winning.