Big brands in the bag丨中国日报35周岁
2016/6/2 中国日报网双语新闻

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     Anniversary

     2016年6月1日是中国日报35周岁生日。双语君跟大家分享了中国日报资深人士撰写的专栏文章。他们和我们的读者一起分享，35年来他们眼中的社会变迁和生活改变。

     今天是该专栏的最后一篇，文章由中国日报编委刘伟玲撰写，她在此文中讲述了中国人对奢侈品牌的态度。

    

     I can't recall a moment when I was fascinated by luxury goods but I remember my instinctivereaction about 15 years ago when a young colleague showed her newly-bought Louis Vuitton handbag - at a price nearly five times her monthly salary.

     "So do you want to starve in the coming months?" I asked. "Why not put the money in a bankaccount and earn interest?"

     Back in 2000, such extravagance was unimaginable to me, someone who earned an averagesalary in Beijing and was cautious with every penny earned.

     "It IS a universal brand!" she responded, pointing to the logo. "It can be a symbol of mystatus."

     The answer silenced me, and to some extent reshaped my understanding of China'sconsumption market.

     I used to believe luxuries were out of reach for the salaried class, and were meant for thenouveaux riches who pursued material possessions and lavish lifestyles, movie stars withTiffany jewelry and Chanel dresses, and private entrepreneurs eager to flaunt their successwith Hermes belts and Rolex watches.

     I was wrong. I just ignored the craving of white-collar workers, especially young people, to beidentified with success and style. They were a captive market for top brands.

     In the following decade, as a business reporter, I witnessed, and sometimes chronicled, theboom in China's luxury market.

     The first decade of the 21st century saw top brands swarming to China, from LVMH toArmani, from Givenchy to Dior, from Bentley to Rolls-Royce. They poured in money to openglossy new shops and announced aggressive plans to enhance their presence.

     Outside the nation, the buying mania hit global headlines often as Chinese tourists sweptboutiques of Gucci, Hermes and Burberry in Paris, New York and Tokyo, asking the typicalquestion: "Which is the most expensive?"

     In 2004, Goldman Sachs predicted China - as the ranks of its middle class continued to swell- would become the world's second-largest market for luxury goods within 10 years. "Themarket is about to take off," a PricewaterhouseCoopers report echoed.

     But the Chinese market easily beat the predictions. In 2013, Chinese spent over $102 billionon luxuries, roughly 47 percent of the global total, of which $28 billion was in the mainlandmarket and the remaining $74 billion overseas. Last year luxury spending was $113 billion,according to consulting firm Bain &Co.

     In response to the market conditions, China Daily's business news section created a positionof "luxury reporter" in 2006 and started a two-page special coverage on the trend.

     Topics ranged from CEO interviews, market trends, strategies of different companies and newproducts. The reporter was the envy of colleagues as she got opportunities to see the finestproducts and to talk with the world's richest, most fashionable and successful bosses,designers, and sometimes consumers.

     However, a fragile global recovery and a slowing Chinese economy has taken some sheen offthe sector.

     "I don't like branded, logo-covered handbags," says a friend working in a US firm. "They areeverywhere, on the street, on buses, on subways. Isn't it silly to carry one?"

     ThewriterisamemberofChinaDaily'seditorialboard.

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