A deeper appreciation of aesthetics tends to be a corollary to a country’s economic development. As Charles Ingrey-Senn, founder of Cais Design Associates in Hangzhou, says, “The economy in China is growing at a frantic pace, and with this growth there is a demand for ID.”

Read the full article at IDC

Via NeochaEDGE

DAFF is Shanghai’s biggest biannual lifestyle community event. Aimed at giving China’s creative leaders and rising talent a platform to interact, share ideas, and promote new projects, the event gives an unprecedented opportunity to connect with and inspire the public at large.

At the previous DAFF in September 2012, more than 80 brands and artists came together with over 5,000 fairgoers for a full day and night of sharing, selling, watching, eating, drinking, and dancing.

This year, DAFF will be extended to a two-day format starting Saturday, May 25^th from 2:00pm to 12:00am and ending on Sunday, May 26^th from 2:00pm to 9:00pm.

Returning to the Wharf 1846 South Bund promenade, this spring’s DAFF will include some major changes as well as regular fixtures such as

-       Fashion shows running both days from local and international designers

-       Live art performances

-       DJs and live bands

-       Interactive installations

-       Workshops

-       A revamped new layout with pop up shops and exhibition booths from hot design, art and fashion brands

-       Delicious food and drinks from artisan chefs

-       Chill out area for eating, socializing, and dancing

As the sun goes down and the Pudong skyline lights up, so does DAFF.  Participants’ pop-up shops, bars, music and live art installations shine on for two full nights in a festive atmosphere.

Together, we can foster a more connected, cultured and creative community in China.  See you there!

Visit the official site HERE

According to a recent China Daily report, a Saudi princess has ordered a dress from Chinese designer NE·TIGER after seeing one of the label’s designs in an exhibition in Riyadh in April. The made-to-measure luxury gown will reportedly be blue “with golden dragon embroidery,” and will be constructed by three designers sent to Riyadh.

Read the full article at Jing Daily

Historically, Shanghai used to be more open and westernized as a city as such, but also in terms of government regulations and the way business was done. As a consequence the consumers in Shanghai are already very familiar with Western styles and foreign designer brands. The city also offers interesting architectural styles, many green recreational areas and an international entertainment, bar and restaurant scene that make foreign executives easily feel at home. All these factors combined made Shanghai a first choice for a market entry into mainland China.

Today, with a large number of luxury and designer stores, the city continues to lead the way as open and westernized fashion capital in China, but other cities are catching up rapidly. Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Shenyang, among others, all offer well-developed fashion and lifestyle brand landscapes, an appetite for foreign brands and more moderate government regulations than a few years ago. The argument of Shanghai’s openness and better developed fashion taste does not suffice any more to justify a brand’s investment into a head office location, or does it?

From our point of view, Shanghai’s strongest advantage that justifies the establishment of a local headquarter is its central geographic position in mainland China. So far, the majority of cities usually targeted for an expansion by brands are located in the East of the country, and all important cities in the North and South can be reached by plane in about two hours. Of course, this implies that the brand we are talking about does plan for a balanced expansion strategy into the North, South and West of the country. This would mean, for example, open retail stores in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, (both close to Shanghai / central China), Beijing, Shenyang, Harbin (in the North), Chengdu and Chongqing (in the West), and Guangzhou and Shenzhen (in the South). But should a brand plan its expansion like this?

Well, this would depend on each brand’s unique positioning, financial resources and planned commitment to the Chinese market expansion, as well as their production capacities. Some brands choose to maintain their flair of exclusivity by opening not more than five flagship stores in mainland China, others (look at many watch brands!) together with franchise partners have opened hundreds of points of sale including “global flagship stores”, concept stores, boutiques, and department store counters all over the country. There are others again, such as smaller, often family owned businesses, who manufacture and craft the pieces by hand, and who therefore can only expand in pace with their production capacity.

Read our articles on Chinese cities with the highest potential for new store locations and the potential of the Chinese luxury retail market to learn more and optimize your expansion strategy in China.

In each case, a brand needs to analyze the different submarkets in Chinese cities and where the products might sell best based on local consumer preferences and culture. Marketing means and product offering may have to be slightly adjusted accordingly, but need to remain part of an overall brand strategy and visual identity. And by researching the characteristics of different consumer segments and geographies, brands might realize that opening more stores in the North rather than the South makes more sense to them.

Many people know that Beijing, as the capital city, is where most of the government and military bureaus are located and their employees are regular consumers of luxury brands. Besides the government and military, most media headquarters are also located in Beijing. This includes high-end fashion magazines such as Vogue, Bazaar, Marie Claire, but also social media such as Sina Weibo, art related institutions and many new creative agencies. To market a brand successfully, it is necessary to stay in regular touch with the media and attend their industry events regularly.

Beijing is also the city where most of China’s millionaires live and where most of the retail sales revenue is made. (according to a report published by Hurun in 2012, Shanghai ranks no. 3 as home to wealthy Chinese after Beijing and Guangdong province). Northern Chinese consumers have a large appetite for luxury goods and are less likely to travel (and purchase) abroad than their counterparts from the South. This is another factor that makes Beijing and the North of China an attractive location. Guangzhou and Shenzhen (both in the South) are located very close to Hong Kong, and local consumers are tempted to take a daytrip to Hong Kong to purchase the latest luxury products for a much lower price, due to the low import and sales taxes there.

Shanghai has been promoted as China’s “Fashion Mecca” in the past, but the truth is, that many luxury stores act as store front showcases only to create brand awareness, raise the image and pave the way for an expansion into smaller second and third tier cities. This sad detail might also be due to the fact that Shanghai is surrounded by other, smaller, well developed and very livable cities (Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou, and Ningbo) which are also home to a range of luxury mall developments, and luxury sales therefore gets spread over the region rather than concentrate in one of these cities.

By contrast, Beijing is a “stand-alone” market and although its sister city Tianjin was heavily promoted by the government in recent years it has not really taken off for luxury brands. Thanks to the government’s various programs to stimulate the capital’s economic and cultural growth, the city has been and still is attracting tourist and business travelers from all over China, all with a strong impact on luxury sales. It is no coincidence that most luxury brands have opened more and bigger stores in Beijing than Shanghai. These stores are designed to impress and showcase the brand heritage through oversized store dimensions. People in the North also tend to be more attracted to “bling” and show off luxury products, and spend a higher portion of their savings on luxury items as compared to residents in the South.

In summary, China is a country with a size and amount of submarkets comparable to Europe, and should be treated as such rather than as a single geographic entity. It is worth to invest in detailed market research and try to understand the motivations that drive different consumer segments, as well as considering the infrastructure of locations in order to determine an appropriate distribution strategy. Taking into account the brand’s requirements for government and media relations, availability of partners such as licensees or plants, and after defining the overall strategy for China, it will be easy to choose the right city for the brand’s headquarters.

Via 5 Star Plus Retail Design

The house forms part of the Chinese International Practical Exhibition of Architecture (CIPEA) programme, which was first conceived back in 2003 as a showcase of modern architecture featuring 11 buildings by Chinese studios and 13 more by architects from abroad. A total of 20 houses are planned for the site in Laoshan National Forest Park, as well as an art museum by Steven Holl, a conference centre by Arata Isozaki, a hotel by Liu Jiakun and a leisure centre by the late Ettore Sottsass.

For his contribution, Zhang Lei of AZL Architects designed a four-storey house with layered concrete walls, intended to resemble the curling forms of traditional Chinese scrolls. Each opening provides a wide aperture, framing views of the surrounding woodland from balconies that wrap the perimeter.

“The concept of Blockhouse is almost the living attitude of many Chinese; a minimal opening to the surrounding landscape is the only perforation of the richness inside the house,” say the architects.

Rooms are contained within a glass volume at the centre of the structure. A living and dining room occupies the ground floor, while the five bedrooms required by the brief are located upstairs along with bathrooms and a study.

Via Dezeen

The Aga Khan Award for architectural design recently announced its 2013 shortlist of nominees, with China’s Museum of Handcraft Paper in Yunnan province as the only East Asian country represented in the final top 20 candidates. We actually reported on the completion of this project in an architectural roundup earlier this year.

Read the rest of the article at CreativeHunt

Read the rest of the article at Jing Daily

The timber-clad building was designed by SAKO Architects with different functions in each of its five wings, while a wine cellar occupies the basement.

An entranceway cuts through the first of the five wings. A lobby is located beyond and leads into a central hall with a circular skylight overhead.

A wine showroom and bar are contained in the second wing, while the third contains the dining room of the restaurant. Both of these spaces open out to rectangular terraces, plus one of them projects out across the surface of the lake.

The fourth wing contains a series of private function rooms, divided by brick walls with gaps to let the light through, and the final wing contains the kitchen and staff facilities.

Via Dezeen

Read the rest of the article at Jing Daily