Monthly Archives: June 2008

Surfing for the best deals

A growing consumer demand in India and China means that citizens will not only be spending their disposable income in shops, but will also be surfing online for the hottest deals. A recently concluded Master card survey said that by 2010, China will reign as the highest online shopping turnover at about US$1.4 trillion while India will clinch the No 2 spot. Both countries are expected to displace japan which currently rules the online market, Thaindian reported.

�The rising population of upper-middle-income urban elites is likely to boost the online shopping markets in China and India significantly. Domestic consumer spending in the two countries is poised to pick up strongly, underpinned by the rapid pace of urbanization, robust economic expansion and rising spending powe,� the China Daily quoted the survey, as saying.

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Three’s a Crowd

A recent editorial in the Peoples daily, ran a piece on the Chinese view of India-Pakistan relations, something it hasn’t done too often. At a time, when China’s soft power in the region is being questioned, the editorial seeks to comment on the people’s view of India-Pakistan anti-terrorism efforts, saying that although the talks didn’t really show results, they are �important steps towards mutual political trust�.The editorial concludes with ‘The efforts for peace once again prove that dialogue is the sole path to resolving differences between counties. India and Pakistan’ steps on this road are not big yet; but they are moving, in a positive direction.’

Is this a precursor to China’s bid to dominate the region, and usurp America’s role as Asia’s policeman?

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Sex and the Asian city

American in theme, Sex and the City has been devoured by Asian women who all secretly desire to be like Carrie Bradshaw and her entourage. Living vicariously, single in a cosmopolitan city, Manolo heeled and smart-talking, the girls are envied by Asian women who have watched the episodes endlessly and see a glimmer of themselves in at least one character.

“I was surprised to find that Carrie and I shared so many problems as career women in big cities. I also met my Mr Right, but love and marriage don’t seem to be as easy as they were for my parents generation,” a Shanghai woman in her thirties told the Shanghai Star.

But can Asian women live the same lives? “Compared with women in New York, I think love affairs in Shanghai are more complicated. Unlike Carrie many local women take whether a man has an apartment, job or good education into consideration when they pick boy friends. I think in Shanghai few female lawyers would date a bartender like Miranda did in the show,” she added.

Across the Himalayas, society is no different. Although many Indian women claim they live life on their own terms, 30-to-40 year-old, successful, smart, sexy equivalents in India live a different reality.

Mumbai and Shanghai may be like Manhattan when it comes to the real estate index, but look at the relationship index, and what goes on here might make Miranda go on a stiletto-stabbing spree – Times of India.

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Minting millionaires

The economic powerhouses – India, China and Brazil are not just guzzling oil and gulping steel, they are also minting millionaires. The rich are getting richer – the number of millionaires jumped 22.7 percent in India last year, 20.3 percent in China and 19.1 percent in Brazil, according to the 12th annual World Wealth Report, prepared by US investment bank Merrill Lynch and information technology group Capgemini. On the whole, the number of millionaires worldwide rose 6 percent last year to 10.1 million.

The report which highlights the rising clout of emerging market countries on the global financial stage, attributed the increase in such areas to gains in commodity exports, “paired with growing international acceptance of emerging financial centers as significant global players”, AFP reported.

Emerging markets also figured prominently in initial public offerings last year, during which more than 1,300 IPOs raised about 300 billion dollars. Emerging markets captured seven of the top 10 issues, the study said.

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Wimbledon woos Asia

Continuing on yesterday’s theme of Asian fashion fetishes and luxury brand indulgences here’s a look into how the biggest brand in tennis – Wimbledon is cashing in on Asia’s nouveau riche, and how China and India, with their fast-growing economies, have provided a fertile ground for Wimbledon in an ambitious bid to export its distinctive brand right around the globe.

“Europe is a very mature market and it is very difficult to introduce the Wimbledon brand in depth there. Asia is a land of opportunity,” McCowen told Reuters.

“This is the fastest expanding market in the world for merchandising. Asia is booming,” said Wimbledon marketing director Robert McCowen.

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Fashion fetishes in Asia

Would you buy a US$1,000 dress if you knew the tag on it said “made in China”? A recent report by the Guardian thinks otherwise. In an article on the increasing influence of Asian shoppers, the Guardian says – Asian shoppers are particularly origin-conscious as French and Italian luxury goods are important status symbols in the newly affluent region. The opinions of Asian shoppers are beginning to matter more and more as growth in more mature markets slows down.
“In Asia, in a certain segment, you can’t offer a product made in China or made in Asia,” said Patrizio di Marco, president and chief executive of Bottega Veneta, on the sidelines of a luxury goods conference in Tokyo. “They are very aware of where the product was made, and whether it was made in Italy, made in France.”

But that only represents Asia’s fashion elite, when it comes to more accessible designer brands, consumers may be less prejudiced than some producers think. They might even by willing to indulge in fakes – for you never know where the fakes come from.