For Vladislav Ivanov (aka Lelush), being finally kicked out of Produce Camp 2021 was a dream come true. In February, Ivanov signed up for the Chinese boy-band survival show but instantly regretted it. Since then he has tried all means to get voted off so as not to breach his contract. However, his dejected look, half-hearted performance and direct pleas to let him go had the opposite effect. Not only did Ivanov make it into the final, but he has also become an icon of China’s Sang culture (sang wenhua). Read more (The Conversation)
Tag Archives: china
Why The Chinese Gen-Z Demand For Local Brands Is Growing
ecently, the Chinese lifestyle app RED launched its “2020 RED Yearly Beauty Insight Report,” which showed that the number of views on the app related to domestic brands increased by 66 percent over the first half of 2020, garnering the highest year-on-year growth amongst sectors globally. Emerging domestic brand Colorkey experienced the most explosive growth, seeing an 8,529-percent increase in viewership. Although Western beauty brands still dominate RED with the highest percentage of content views, they have fallen slightly from 63.2 to 62 percent during the period. Views of overseas brands from Japan, Korea, and Thailand have also dropped — from 31.4 to 30.2 percent. Read more (Jing Daily)
Emerging geographies For Luxury in China – Looking Beyond Tier One Cities
According to Deloitte and Secco, Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities account for 56 percent of luxury goods consumption. However, growing disposable income levels, partly attributed to lower living costs, particularly in North and Southwest China provinces, will open up the luxury market to millions of new consumers. Digital avenues connect these new consumers to the luxury universe. And investments in infrastructure will also create a positive environment (it is no coincidence that Tesla targeted lower-tier cities like Weifang and Linyi when opening its new centers). Read more (Jing Daily)
Unilever’s latest laundry capsule is made from CO2 taken from a Chinese steel mill.
The laundry capsules, available through the brand Omo and launching in China April 22, result from a partnership between Unilever, biotech company LanzaTech, and green chemical company India Glycols. LanzaTech, which has a commercial plant running in China that turns carbon emissions from a steel mill into ethanol, has already used its carbon recycling process to turn those emissions into jet fuel and alcohol for fragrances. Read more (Fast Company)
Has China’s “Too Skinny” Trend Gone Too Far?
The Jing Take: For years, celebrities and role models in China promoted an unattainable beauty standard: white, skinny, and young. But this unrealistic view of femininity is slowly changing thanks to the rise of new consumer trends and the influence of social media.
Nevertheless, online challenges like this most recent one prove that social media still has a distressed relationship with body inclusivity. The penchant for size-zero KOLs and idols sends women an implicit message, so it is hardly surprising when younger women glorify skinny. Read more (Jing Daily)
Why Tired Chinese Youth are Going Punk to Tackle Their Sleep Problems
A recent survey shows that in 2020, although people spent more time at home thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, it took them an extra two or three hours to fall asleep, while the number of online searches for sleep problems increased 43%. In just six years, the national average sleep time dropped by two hours, from 8.8 hours in 2013 to 6.9 in 2019. And perhaps not surprisingly, those in their twenties and thirties sleep the latest — and least — among all age groups. Read more (RADII)
Domestic Luxury Shopping is Here to Stay in China — To the Dismay of Overseas Retailers
The impact of the shop-near-home trend has been noteworthy. According to the Wall Street Journal, the China unit of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE — owner of Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Dior, and many others — saw 65% growth year-over-year in the second quarter of 2020, while Kering SA, whose portfolio includes Gucci and Bottega Veneta, recorded a 40% increase in revenue in China during the same period. Currently, demand at brick-and-mortar stores is so strong that Gucci and Hermès stores in Shanghai have limited shopper visits to avoid overcrowding. China was virtually the only bright spot for both LVMH and Kering, as global revenue for the two luxury giants in the second quarter of the year plummeted 38% and 43.7%, respectively. Read more (Jing Daily)
What Happens to Luxury if China Stalls?
China has emerged as the economic winner of the COVID-19 pandemic, and analysts predict that gains made in 2020 — when it was the only major economy to record growth — have set it on a path to become the world’s largest luxury market by 2025. At that point, Chinese consumers are predicted to make up nearly 50 percent of all luxury purchases globally, according to a November report from Bain & Co.
But could anything slow the runaway train that is China’s economy? Is there anything that would not make this a reality? Read more (Jing Daily)
China’s TikTok Is Banning Users Who Brag About Their Wealth
The purported aim of the ban is to promote “rational spending” and “a civilized lifestyle,” as well as build a healthier community on Douyin, according to the notice. A spokesperson for the platform told media that flaunting wealth “pollutes the social atmosphere (on Douyin) and is particularly harmful for the mental and physical well-being of minors.”
The recently announced cleanup has actually been underway for weeks. Since the start of this year, close to 4,000 accounts that shared content related to the six now-forbidden categories have been given the boot, the statement said. Read more (Sixth Tone)
