INTERVIEW_ After our article on the shopping behavior of Chinese travelers abroad (see “Study: Chinese luxury tourist spending in Europe” of January 27th), we were curious to go deeper and find out more about how the study was carried out and how European retailers and brands could profit from it.
In conversation with James Button, head of the luxury project at Shanghai-based consultancy Smith Street, FashionUnited gained valuable insides into Chinese luxury consumer behavior.
SmithStreet is a growth-consulting firm based in Shanghai that helps companies do well in China. Their clients are international brands already in China and those looking to enter the country. The consultancy's specialty is doing in depth-interviews and talking to different stakeholders like consumers, retailers, real estate agents and others.
Though most of the work is done for individual clients, the Chinese luxury tourist study came about when different clients expressed similar concerns. When travelling to Paris and Milan to meet with retailers, SmithStreet noticed that their clients asked many China-specific questions like how to address Chinese tourists, etc. In view of these common questions, the company decided to provide their clients with one syndicated report focusing on different branches (like fashion, jewelry, etc.) rather than individual studies.