WWD Analyzes How Wealthy Chinese People Shop

The fashion industry's fascination and treatment of the Asian market is reaching new levels of "really?" Sure, it might be useful to many fashion executives and brand managers who subscribe to WWD to have an American analysis of the shopping habits of China's nouveau riche. But it's also kind of strange — the way that all-Asian model fashion editorials are strange. They're not a species of zoo animal that needs to be isolated for research and gawking purposes, but on with it: WWD followed a group of Chinese millionaires and billionaires on a shopping trip across the States stopping in New York, Boston, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Much of what they say about them can be said of any tourist group — they gravitate toward certain brands and buy what they know, not brands they don't. Sometimes — get this — they don't remember the brands they bought. Brands they love include Louis Vuitton and Coach. Coach employees know that Chinese customers who come into the store are likely to buy things, just as Abercrombie employees here probably know European tourists are also likely to buy things.

The buying habits of this particular group were hardly unpredictable. Anyone can understand an affinity for outlet malls. Or this:

In Boston, the second stop, the group didn’t go shopping. In Las Vegas, they shopped at Caesar’s Palace and once again hit up Vuitton.

Or this:

While L.A. was widely perceived to be cheaper for luxury products compared to New York, the least amount of luxury shopping was done there.

So New York is the best place in this nation to shop. Who would have guessed?