The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| What to give a Chinese boss who has it all, or nothing? Posted: 01 Oct 2012 07:04 AM PDT  A woman is seen carrying luxury shopping bags in Hong Kong. – AFP pic Judging by sales of certain luxury goods in the Chinese shopping heartland of Hong Kong, that's a conundrum facing more than a few well-heeled mainland visitors during the Golden Week holidays from October 1. The break is a boom sales period for Hong Kong stores, but this year it's coinciding with a slowdown in the Chinese economy and the buildup to Beijing's once-a-decade leadership transition. The crucial congress that will name the new chiefs of the secretive Communist Party will take place on November 8, state media has announced. Few analysts expect any surprises at the very top – Vice President Xi Jinping appears certain to replace President Hu Jintao – but what happens at lower levels of China's vast machinery of state is anyone's guess. Rumours are swirling of deep divisions within the party's elite, and many analysts say this leadership transition is the most turbulent since Jiang Zemin's appointment as party leader in 1989. Evidence of this uncertainty could be on display in the jewellery shops of Hong Kong, where sales of expensive watches, a bellwether of the luxury gift market, have fallen in recent months, analysts and retailers said. "There's definitely a decrease in sales this year of about 20 to 30 per cent," said Wong, a salesman at a fancy watch shop who refused to give his full name. "It feels like the customers that actually buy things have decreased. There is a big change." Analysts put this slump down to China's slowing economic growth – at 7.6 per cent in the second quarter it's the slowest since March 2009 – and a drop in overnight stays by mainland tourists. "If you're coming for an overnight stay you probably have a bigger budget and you also have more time to spend it," HSBC Greater China Economist Donna Kwok said. "Looking at the big picture, the most important thing is that China, for now, is in slowdown mode." But there are also signs, largely anecdotal in nature, that at least some of the fall in certain categories of luxury goods could be linked to doubts about who will be in power after the all-important party congress. Chinese consumers spent an estimated US$49 billion (RM149.99 billion) on luxury goods last year, a quarter of a global market worth US$197 billion. They are poised to overtake Americans this year as the biggest buyers of luxury goods in the world. Analysts say around 20 per cent of the luxury goods Chinese people buy are for gifts, and gifts are often used to grease the wheels of "guanxi", the Chinese term for relationships that help win jobs and promotions. Drilling down a bit further, one segment of the gift market that could serve as an informal indicator of "guanxi" is watches, and logically it follows that the more expensive the watch the more powerful the receiver. "For sure the watch segment has been a bit weaker and the watch category lends itself well to gift giving," said Aaron Fischer, head of consumer research at Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA. "I think with the current political climate, and a bit of a clampdown on corruption, and also a desire to reduce the level of conspicuous consumption, we're seeing some of those flashier products perform a little bit worse." Hong Kong Tourism Board figures show that mainlanders accounted for some 30 per cent of the growth in watches and jewellery sold in Hong Kong in 2010. In the first half of this year, sales growth in that segment of the luxury market was only 2.2 per cent, compared to 32 per cent in the same time last year. The boss of a leading luxury goods distributor in Hong Kong said the political uncertainty surrounding Beijing's power transition was forcing some gift givers to delay their purchases until the dust settled. He said products that could be affected included expensive French wines, a trendy new addition to the list of acceptable items to give your Chinese boss if you really want to make an impression. One politician who will not be receiving gifts from ambitious employees is former Chongqing city party boss Bo Xilai, a favourite for one of the top posts in the all-powerful Politburo who was dramatically sacked earlier this year after his wife was accused of murdering a British businessman. The wife, Gu Kailai, was given a death sentence commuted to life in prison last month, and the police chief who exposed the scandal, Wang Lijun, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday. China's state media announced last Friday that Bo will "face justice" for a litany of serious crimes, indicating it will come down hard on the one-time rising star as it prepares to usher in a new generation of leaders. – AFP/Relaxnews |
| Amsterdam goes green with electric scooter taxis Posted: 01 Oct 2012 06:46 AM PDT  File photo shows an Amsterdam street scene with a canal. Amsterdam's 17th Century canals and cobbled streets make driving cars, including taxis, in the centre of the city often difficult and time consuming due to unloading trucks, congestion or road blocks. A Dutchman has come up with an idea to use electric scooter taxis to help visitors and residents get from one point to another faster. – Reuters pic "I was very frustrated at being late, and it was then that I thought, hey a scooter would be able to get me to my meeting on time," said Beugels, founder of Hopper, Europe's first electric taxi scooter service, which will debut in Amsterdam on Monday. Amsterdam's 17th Century canals and cobbled streets make driving cars, including taxis, in the centre of the city often difficult and time consuming due to unloading trucks, congestion or road blocks, which is one of the reasons so many Amsterdamers prefer to use bicycles within the city centre. Dutch public transport, including trams, trains and buses, is generally considered reliable and efficient, but these services, which span out like a fan from the main central train station reaching to the city's edge, aren't available throughout the oldest parts of Amsterdam's city centre, which Beugels hopes will become Hopper's new turf. Beugels, who calls the scooters a "new form of public transport," says they will help bridge the gap between using public transport and getting to your final destination, or that last kilometre, right to the doorstep. The scooters are high-tech, kitted out with navigation and tracking systems by the Dutch firm TomTom and a Samsung smartphone which is locked into the dash and a tablet on the back, which is used for digital advertising. Beugels expects the glossy lime green coloured scooters will become an urban fixture in Amsterdam and eventually in the three other biggest Dutch cities including The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht, where Hopper scooters will be rolled out throughout 2013. The electric scooters drive at a maximum speed of 25 km/h and can go 130 km on a fully charged electric battery. Hopper's main garage, replete with 100 scooters to start, crouches between TomTom HQ and Amsterdam's central train station. Six years since he was left stranded by the tram, Beugels cobbled together a consortium of partners, distributors and sponsors from both private and public sectors, including the city of Amsterdam, the National railway and sustainable bank Triodos, which provided half of the financing. "Everything we finance has to contribute, one way or another, to a better quality of life because we think that profit should not come at the expense of the world's most pressing problems, which is why we finance organic farming, sustainable buildings, arts and culture, and renewable energy schemes," said Maarten Thijs from Triodos. "This particular loan customer (Hopper) has a very clever idea, but it's also very simple and sophisticated, which is why we like it," said Thijs. Users can call, book online or use the Hopper app to find the nearest driver and contact them directly to book a ride, which is a flat rate of €2.50 (RM9.89). "Amsterdam will become a bit more Italian with all those hip scooters in town. Very nice. But the nicest thing is that the Amsterdam Hoppers are noiseless and non-polluting," said Peter-Paul Blommers, marketing expert who has advised Hopper. – Reuters |
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