China, Socialism & Consumer Behavior: Part II
Top Marques Luxury Fair Moves to Shanghai
credits: Shanghai Daily
As the number of millionaires continues to grow in China, the country attracks more and more events targeted for the rich and famous: the annual Top Marques luxury fair returned to the Shanghai International Convention Center in Pudong yesterday with nearly 300 rare exhibits including roadsters, yachts, works of art and antiques.
The four-day event is expected to attract more than 30,000 visitors, mostly customers invited by the exhibitors and senior staff from wealthy companies in banking, energy resources and IT, according to Sheng Lei, the general manager of the event organizer, Borrison Expo.
Sheng said visitors are expected to spend 500 million yuan (US$66.7 million) on the luxury items. The expensive products include a villa in Sanya, Hainan Province, costing more than 100 million yuan, a Spyker car worth more than 400 million yuan and a 250-million-yuan Schimmel piano.
Fancy cars have always been the highlight of the Top Marques. This year, it has brought to China an Aston Martin D89 - the car driven by Daniel Crag in Casino Royale, the latest 007 incarnation. Priced at 380 million yuan, the roadster is waiting for its first owner in China. Other leading car makers such as Porsche, Ferrari and Cadillac have also brought their 2008 models.
While Top Marques luxury fair in Shanghai still hits the headlines with record transactions, the northeast is catching up with being posh as well. Luxury consumption is no longer a characteristic found during the golden week. In major cities such as Shenyang, Harbin and Changchun, many top global brands have penetrated these markets with exclusive counters and stable audience.
The China, Socialism & Consumer Behavior: Part II by Itamar Medeiros, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.