Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/331061
ot long ago, global luxury brands saw mainland China as something of a Promised land, thanks to the so-called economic miracle that has over the past two decades produced vast wealth in the world's most populous country. More recently growth has slowed, so develop- ment has become more of a science, but lucrative demand remains for the right shopping centers in the right places. until sales of luxury goods began to cool in late 2011, China's rich people, along with the well-off ordinary citizens who ben- efited from rising incomes, had a seemingly insatiable appetite for fancy watches, designer clothes and other high-end goods. "so much wealth has been created in China during the last 20 years that it is almost impossible to quantify," said steven McCord, director of China retail research at Jones lang lasalle. "some people have gotten very rich by being in the right place at the right time, and peo- ple who work in companies have been benefiting from rising wages over time." N CHangE oF FortunE developers adjust to china's cooling luxury market By Anna Robaton j u l y 2 0 1 4 / S C T 47 luxury-goods sales in mainland China surged by roughly 30 percent year on year in both 2010 and 2011, according to bain & Co. bain reported in 2012 that greater China, which includes Hong Kong, Macau and taiwan, had bypassed Japan to become the world's second-largest luxury- goods market, behind the u.s. global luxury brands began entering China in the 1990s, initially opening boutiques within department stores. the following decade, when China began allowing 46-50_SCT_JUL14_China.indd 47 6/12/14 5:58 PM