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London's department stores lay out red carpet to attract Chinese
Source: AFP |
December 17, 2012, Monday
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WITH their shelves spilling over with festive goodies, London's department stores are working hard to attract Christmas shoppers - but Chinese visitors are the particular target of a charm offensive.
Hotels, retailers and the government are stepping up efforts to woo big-spending Chinese visitors in a bid to bounce back from Britain's longest recession in half a century.
Congee and dumplings are on the breakfast menu at enterprising hotels, major London stores have installed Chinese bank card terminals, and Mandarin-speaking staff are on hand to help out with the Christmas shopping.
Britain is courting Chinese travellers not only because they are a rapidly growing market - they made an estimated 70 million overseas trips in 2011, up 20 percent in just a year - but because they are serious shoppers.
"My goodness, they spend," said Patricia Yates, director of strategy for the VisitBritain tourism authority.
"The average Chinese visitor spends about three times as much - 1,600 pounds (US$2,600) - as the average visitor to Britain," she said.
"So they're very welcome by the retail industry at the moment, who have seen domestic demand soften."
Purveyors of luxury goods have welcomed affluent Chinese visitors with open arms.
The renowned Harrods department store, in London's exclusive Knightsbridge district, now has 70 Mandarin-speaking staff and more than 100 China UnionPay terminals allowing direct payment from Chinese bank accounts.
A Harrods spokeswoman said jewelry and watches, fashion and fine wines were top of the shopping list for many Chinese customers.
"They seek out the very latest, limited edition and exclusive products," she said.
Beneath the twinkling Christmas lights on London's central shopping artery Oxford Street, too, Chinese shoppers were on the lookout for designer items.
"We think London is the capital of fashion," said Harry Gao, a fashion student from Wenzhou, who was wrapped up against the drizzle in a fur coat and gold trainers. "Lots of famous designers are from the UK. It's lots of fun."
A record 149,000 Chinese visitors came to Britain last year, bringing some 240 million pounds to the struggling economy.
But Britain's share of the coveted Chinese market is poor compared to several competitors in continental Europe including France, which welcomed nearly a million tourists from China last year.
"We know that our European rivals do much better than us," Yates admitted.
We really want to break the Chinese market."
Hotels, retailers and the government are stepping up efforts to woo big-spending Chinese visitors in a bid to bounce back from Britain's longest recession in half a century.
Congee and dumplings are on the breakfast menu at enterprising hotels, major London stores have installed Chinese bank card terminals, and Mandarin-speaking staff are on hand to help out with the Christmas shopping.
Britain is courting Chinese travellers not only because they are a rapidly growing market - they made an estimated 70 million overseas trips in 2011, up 20 percent in just a year - but because they are serious shoppers.
"My goodness, they spend," said Patricia Yates, director of strategy for the VisitBritain tourism authority.
"The average Chinese visitor spends about three times as much - 1,600 pounds (US$2,600) - as the average visitor to Britain," she said.
"So they're very welcome by the retail industry at the moment, who have seen domestic demand soften."
Purveyors of luxury goods have welcomed affluent Chinese visitors with open arms.
The renowned Harrods department store, in London's exclusive Knightsbridge district, now has 70 Mandarin-speaking staff and more than 100 China UnionPay terminals allowing direct payment from Chinese bank accounts.
A Harrods spokeswoman said jewelry and watches, fashion and fine wines were top of the shopping list for many Chinese customers.
"They seek out the very latest, limited edition and exclusive products," she said.
Beneath the twinkling Christmas lights on London's central shopping artery Oxford Street, too, Chinese shoppers were on the lookout for designer items.
"We think London is the capital of fashion," said Harry Gao, a fashion student from Wenzhou, who was wrapped up against the drizzle in a fur coat and gold trainers. "Lots of famous designers are from the UK. It's lots of fun."
A record 149,000 Chinese visitors came to Britain last year, bringing some 240 million pounds to the struggling economy.
But Britain's share of the coveted Chinese market is poor compared to several competitors in continental Europe including France, which welcomed nearly a million tourists from China last year.
"We know that our European rivals do much better than us," Yates admitted.
We really want to break the Chinese market."
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