The China Luxury Committee’s annual event: China Luxury Summit 2018 was successfully held on the 30th of Nov. at Kunlun Jingan Hotel Shanghai. With expert speakers， the event was attended by an invitation-only guest list， including top-level executives from brands such as Louis Vuitton， Dior， Bulgari， Rimowa， Kering Asia Pacific， Saint Laurent， Swarovski， TASAKI， Prada， Hermes， Remy Cointreau， Moet Hennessy Diageo， Burberry， Hugo Boss， Moncler， Swatch Group， Elizaberth Arden， Anne Fontaine， Stefano Ricci， Escada， JIL SANDER， Bernardaud， KARL LAGERFELD， WOO， Fiyta， ICICLE， Hengdeli Group， Grace Chen， charles & Keith， Langham Group， Ritz Carlton etc.， and top-level executives from other industry partners such as Farfetch， Secoo， JD Fashion， Alibaba， Focus Media Group， International Fur Federation， Lane Crawford， Apex International， Reuter Communications， CREATIVE CAPITAL， L’Atelier， FSG， Bethe1， Radial， Value Retail etc.

The event was highlighted by keynote speeches and panel discussion.

James Roy， Director， Agility Research & Strategy was asked about Affluent Chinese GEN Z: The ’’Buddha-like’’ Generation 

“Affluent Gen Zs feel optimistic overall and are in pursuit of high quality of life. 56% feel “very optimistic” about the next 5 years of their life – vs. 9% who feel “very concerned”. 45% are willing to spend more to “eat well， dress well， and live in a good environment” – vs. 22% who describe selves as more “pragmatic” and consider value trade-offs. 95% use chat and social media apps almost daily. Travel rates as their number 1 hobby， followed by reading and gaming. Owning luxury products is a fact of life for affluent Gen-Zers. 95% own at least one luxury product and 80% have purchased one with their own money. Their expectations from Luxury: Innovative designs and materials， looks good and fits with my personal style， history and heritage， craftsmanship and the brand spirit and values speak to me etc.”

Dax Lovegrove， Global Vice President Corporate Sustainability & Social Responsibility， SWAROVSKI was asked about Conscious Luxury at Swarovski–Our Approach to Sustainability

“Times are changing. The pressure is on to be more sustainable. Swarovski has always had the well-being of employees， the environment and society at its heart. CONSCIOUS LUXURY: Positive Production， Responsible Materials， Collaborative Approaches，Conscious Design， Sustainable Innovation.”

Mark Oaten， Global CEO， International Fur Federation was asked about Luxury and Sustainability- A Common Future or Conflict?

“The problem: 85% of fashion ends up in landfill sites- within 5 years， Fashion seen as worse polluter than transport， Culture of fast fashion- throw away， Buy- wear-throw. Fast fashion is made of items mainly unsustainable including Polyester， Nylon， Acrylic， Heavy Metals， Plastic， Polyvinyl chloride etc. Consumers want change. 66 percent of global millennials are already willing to spend more on brands that are sustainable. More than three in four millennials prefer to pay for an experience than a product， and expect these experiences to be available from brands across all industries. More and more big luxury brands are adopting the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development goals. Material selection is key for reducing the climate impact of apparel and footwear. One solution: Use more natural materials- use FUR! The fur sector is responsible and highly regulated with welfare and sustainability at the core of its operations. Natural fur is a contemporary material with rich heritage that appeals to designers and consumers of all ages. China is Key! In 10 years time， 50% of all the luxury goods will be sold in China!”

Stephen Sun， Founder & CEO， WOO was asked about Integration of Eastern and Western Aesthetics， Renaissance of Traditional Handicraft to Build Up Chinese Luxury Brand

“Chinese cultures and art has a long history of 5，000 years! As one of the Four Great Ancient Civilized Nations in the world， China is the only country that has passed on its ancient wisdom to this day， which forged the origin of Chinese luxury brands.There are four seasons in a year; a brand growth follows the same rule. Today， transforming a brand to a luxury brand is necessary. What need to be done is integrating global resources to create valuable products to meet needs， address pain points of Chinese consumers. Personalized design， flexible production. Chinese brands development entering “summer” refers to the switch from material consumption to spiritual consumption. After the consumption upgrade， a world-class luxury brand strategy is a main key to help with firms’’ transformation and upgrading. We will work together to rewrite the history of this industry， and create a glorious legend! Work with all our hearts!”

Alexis Bonhomme， VP Commercial Greater China， Farfetch was asked about Digital Commerce for Luxury Brands - How to Engage with Luxury Consumers

"Five key luxury consumer trends have emerged: Rise of social media， Demand for personalisation and customisation， Demand for casualwear， Increased “mix & matching”， Influence of collaborations. Online luxury market will increase from 9% in 2018 to 25% in 2025. Luxury brands expected to focus investment on 5 key areas: Omnichannel integration， e-commerce， digital marketing; CRM capabilities and VIP loyalty programmes; In-storeb experiences; Brand building to increase full-price sell-through; Value chain digitalisation."

Federica Marchionni， International C.E.O. and Group C.S.O.， SECOO was asked about Luxury E-commerce Development， How to Deliver the Best Products and Services to Consumers

"Keep changing for customers with a step ahead of the market. Digitalization take places everywhere. E-commerce becomes mainstream. Experience offerings are getting interested. Because the change of market is always involving with customers needs. The New Generation: More Statement to be made.Follow the trend is never for younger minds， especially they’’re taking the leading consumption of luxury products. More Experience want to get. A objective product is not enough for the uprising purchase power， they would more like to take the experience as an“Investment”. Takes forward with help of big data. Getting more digitalized. Future is still About Customers."

Chloé Reuter， Founder and CEO， Reuter Communications was asked about Next-Gen Luxury Travellers: Affluent Chinese Families

"The power of Chinese travellers as not only the demographic that is leading in luxury travel spend， but that China is leading the way in re-defining the very meaning of luxury travel. China Leads in Digital & Global Luxury Consumption. Luxury retail tourism is projected to grow due to 74 million travel-hungry Chinese millennials graduating from university in the next decade. 90% of Chinese tourists use mobile payment when given the chance.The modern， aspirational generations view ’’all things healthy’’as desirable additions to the lifestyles that they live and present. Luxury for the affluent Chinese isn’’t buying wine in China， it’’s going to drink under the stars at the vineyard in France， after they crushed the grapes with their own feet. Let them show off on their social media that they went behind the scenes of luxury and had exclusive experiences."

Jacopo Sertoli， Founder and CEO， Welcome Chinese was asked about Chinese Outbound Luxury Travel Market Evolution 

Alessandro Paparelli， VP of Human Resources， Kering Asia Pacific was asked about Recruiting Suitable Talent for the Fast Changing Luxury Market in China. 

“The Solution Kering Designed for Brands to Tackle Effectively Retail Recruiting in China in an Innovative Way”

Vivian Weng， HR Director - Greater China， Remy Cointreau was asked about Organization Evolution Project: Organizational Change， New way of work， Revival of Organization.

“Need to evolve from being a traditional wholesaler and occasional retailer to being a world class brand leader and an operator of direct to consumer with multiple channels.”

Panel discussion was asked about how to make good use of digital social media， provide best shopping experience for consumers with the seamless connection between online and offline; how new technologies are Influencing the luxury industry; how to better balance the brand heritage and Innovation， craft and computing etc.

For more event details， pls visit www.chinaluxurycommittee.com/luxury2018.

China Luxury Committee will host serial luxury summits in 2019. Coming soon…