Quality first for luxury goods buyers Poll: Mainlanders pay less attention to brand image now

MAINLAND buyers of luxury goods are no longer attracted only tobrand names. They also look for quality and style, a survey shows. The survey polled 200 buyers living in Beijing (北京) and Shanghai (上海) with a monthly household income from 25,000 yuan (HK$31,826) to more than 50,000 yuan. One-third made more than 50,000 yuan. The top three factors that make them buy are product quality (74 percent), style (70 percent) and comfort (70 percent). Only 69 percent chose brand image. The favourite products for mainlanders are jewellery, watches, and bags and luggage. Their favourite brands are Louis Vuitton and Hermes. Gucci comes in at third. The Chinese are the world’s largest nationality of luxury goods buyers. People familiar with the mainland retail business said that consumers are now more likely to compare prices between the mainland and Hong Kong. In the past, there could be a difference of a few thousand Hong Kong dollars for the same product. But now it is only a few hundreds to HK$1,000. 1. luxury (adj) 奢侈的 2. brand name (n phr) 名牌 3. household (n) 一家人 4. image (n) 形象 5. jewellery (n) 首飾 6. nationality (n) 國籍