This year, Chanel toppled the chart and became the “Best Brand for Gifting” for both men and women, with Louis Vuitton ranking second and Dior third, according to the Hurun Best of the Best Awards 2022, based on the results of the Hurun Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey 2022(CLCS). This is the eighteenth consecutive year for Hurun to reveal the brand preferences, consumption habits, and lifestyle trends of China’s wealthiest individuals.
China has logged a new height of luxury consumption, with more than 471 billion RMB ($74.2 billion) spent on luxury goods in 2021, a 36% rise from the year before and almost double compared to that of 2019. Even though the pandemic has brought huge changes to people’s purchasing habits, wealthy individuals are considering buying more luxury products, to make themselves feel rewarded and entertained.
According to China’s high-end consumer market has grown to 1.73 trillion RMB ($270 billion), including 750 billion RMB ($118 billion) for luxury cars, over 500,000 RMB ($79,000), and 520 billion RMB ($ 82 billion) for traditional luxury goods (clothing, shoes and hats, cosmetics, jewellery, handbags, and watches). This increase has naturally drawn many foreign luxury brands to the market, with this year-on-year increase motivating these companies to invest further into the Chinese market.
The report also revealed that 58% of Chinese wealthiest individuals are very confident about the Chinese economy, reaching the highest level in the past decade. In addition, the household wellbeing rate has broken the record and got an 8.4/10.
More than 80% of them are pet lovers and it is estimated that the annual expense per pet is 8,200 RMB ($1230). 42% said they will purchase second-hand luxury products: 66% of them being jewellery and watches, 55% for handbags and accessories, and 8% for cars. We can see the market is ripe for luxury products, and coupled with economic confidence, has helped pushed the consumption numbers to record levels over the last few years.
Regarding future plans, 56% would like to pursue further education and show great passion for MBA/EMBA in the next three years. In addition, more than 90% of participants have plans to purchase electric vehicles, as environmental protection has been one of their most concerned topics. Further to this, participants under-30 paid more attention to gender quality, whereas those over 30 showed more concern for education equality, poverty alleviation as well as healthcare.
The United Kingdom has maintained the most popular destination for study with a 50% market share while the United States got second place with a 40% share. Further education and social issues show a growing China with a better educated and involved population, that will naturally afford better jobs and therefore better salaries to spend on luxury goods.
Altogether 750 participants completed the survey, with an average family wealth of 42 million RMB ($6.6 million) and an investable wealth of 13 million RMB ($2 million).
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