25 Apr 2012 The Top 50 Most-Searched for Luxury Brands in China Our key findings include… Eighteen out of the top fifty most-searched for luxury brands (36%) in China are automobile brands. Audi is the most-searched, followed by BMW and Mercedes Benz. Audi has long held a privileged spot in China, it’s the official car of the Chinese government. Chinese brand Chow Tai Fook is the most searched jewellery brand in China, far surpassing 2nd and 3rd ranked brands, Cartier and Swarovski. With a distribution network of over 1,500 locations across 320 cities in China, Hong Kong, and Macau, it’s no surprise that they lead. Cartier can be found in approximately 300 stores. The top 3 most-searched fashion brands in the ranking, Louis Vuitton (#3), Chanel (#5), and Dior (#8) each lead through different segments. Interest for Dior is specifically related to beauty (and more specifically fragrance) over 80% of the time. For Chanel, beauty represents just fewer than 50%, and fashion and accessories at 40%, while it was noted 94% of searches are fashion/accessory-related for Louis Vuitton “ Unlike the other parts of the world, Western brands in China often find that the public calls the brand something other than the official name ” Unlike the other parts of the world, Western brands in China often find that the public calls the brand something other than the official name. This is illustrated by looking at the names used when Chinese search for Burberry: - 76% by unofficial Chinese name - 15% by official Chinese name - 9% by English name Some brands are more recognized for shortened versions of their official names, where 63% of searches for Louis Vuitton were made using “LV” instead of “Louis Vuitton”. Other brands have adapted their names to paraphrases instead of using a literal translation of their brand name, to resonate more closely with Chinese consumers. For example, Hermès in Chinese [爱马仕] means “an elegant man who loves horsing” and Land Rover [路虎] means “a tiger on the road.” Most surprisingly we found… The World Luxury Index China revealed several luxury brand success stories. Take Moncler for example, the French fashion brand has been generating a surprisingly high level of interest in China thanks to its sponsorship of a widely watched television program in which the main characters all wore Moncler. This shows how important and influential TV in China can be. Another really interesting example is Borghese, a beauty brand not particularly well known in the US and Europe is fascinatingly strong in China. Ranked #43, Borghese surpasses other notable beauty brands Benefit and Guerlain. Thanks to its highly regarded facemasks, Borghese, has been the talk of beauty forums and blogs even long before the brand’s official entry into the Chinese market. Here the impact of cult products and beauty forums and blogs is at work.
