The Bling Dynasty: Why the Reign of Chinese Luxury Shoppers Has Only Just Begun

List of Terms

1. Absolute luxury:
   1. Expression coined by consultant Bain & Company to describe the very high-end brands in the sector. The lower end is called ‘accessible' and the market in between those two is called ‘aspirational'.
2. Anchor tenant or anchor store:
   1. An expression to describe the key brand (or brands) that will generate the most excitement, traffic and differentiation for a shopping mall.
3. Hard luxury:
   1. Generic expression to describe the product categories of watches, jewellery and pens.
4. Premiumisation:
   1. Term coined by the spirits industry to describe the process of trading up, whether driven by pure price increases or favorable mix impacts (i.e., consumers drinking higher-end spirits).
5. Soft luxury:
   1. Generic expression to describe the product categories of leather goods, apparel and accessories.
6. Ubiquity:
   1. The state of being everywhere at once (or perceived to be). It is a real risk in luxury, as ubiquity is not compatible with the necessity to convey exclusivity.
7. Value for money:
   1. A very successful positioning for up-and-coming soft luxury brands, notably American brands such as Coach and Michael Kors in Asia.
8. YUMMIES:
   1. Young urban males, the modern, more mainstream version of the late 1980s ‘metrosexuals'.