In other words, about half of the world's luxury goods were bought home by China people last year. Facing generous China people, why are British people not keen on luxury goods? After a period of in-depth observation, the Chinese who settled in London gave their own answers.
Circles and strata
The Smiths, who live across the street, are a typical middle class in Britain. The man Anthony is a middle-level manager of a financial institution, and his wife Meryl is a primary school teacher, whose income belongs to the upper-middle class. But every time I see this couple, I find that they are both dressed like ordinary people.
At the end of 2008, my community will hold a New Year's party. This is also my first time to attend a formal social activity, so I rented an old Prada dress for 250 pounds, hoping it would help support the scene.
I think Meryl will also show her hidden "strength" on this occasion. But that night, she only wore a lake blue CK dress, which surprised me. Meryl's explanation is that choosing CK is in line with her middle class identity.
Meryl used an image metaphor: Pheasants don't turn into peacocks just because they have a few colorful feathers on their backs. In fact, it's not that British people don't like high-end brands, but that the consumers of luxury goods are mostly confined to fixed people, such as corporate gold collars, fashion people, performing stars and professional athletes.
There is no such thing as face in Britain. People will not spend a few months' salary on a pair of LV shoes because of vanity. Not only adults, but also young people will not get fat at all.
I once met Meryl's son Mark outside and saw that he was carefully selecting the discount of Levi's jeans. I asked him why he didn't go to the store to buy the flagship new model that just came out, and Mark's answer impressed me deeply:
"My parents are not rich. Even if I wear Levis' new model, I won't be a' rich second generation'. Moreover, after I 18 years old, I will earn money to support myself. At that time, there was not much money to buy famous brands, but now it is fine. "
Looking at Mark's calm and satisfied face, I began to feel sorry for the Prada dress I rented for 250 pounds. Saving face really kills people.
Personality and taste
Slowly, I found that there is another reason why the British are not so interested in big-name luxury goods, that is, there are too many brands available in Britain, and people have a wide range of choices.
One year before Christmas, my colleague Jenny and I went to Harrods Department Store. Because I have long heard that Jenny inherited a large inheritance from her grandparents, and her usual consumption level is different from that of ordinary migrant workers, I am curious about what expensive gifts she will buy for her husband and son. She quickly chose two men's scarves.
I looked at the price tag. God, it's really not cheap. Similar to Burberry near the counter. I asked Jenny, "since the price is similar, why not buy your husband that Burberry plaid scarf?"
Jenny looked at me with puzzled eyes and took out her scarf, and made a clear statement from color to style, from design to texture.
Finally, she asked me, "The price is similar, but the price/performance ratio is different. If it were you, which one would you choose? " Good quality, of course. Why should I pay for the sky-high advertising fees of those big brands? "I was speechless. I learned that the British pay attention to reality and don't play virtual games.
In fact, there are deeper reasons why the British don't want to package themselves with big names. That is, from the moment they were born, they put the individual above everything, like to show their individuality, be unconventional and make themselves as small as possible. Choosing those so-called big names obviously can't help them achieve this goal.
On June 20 12, my husband's securities company was going to hold a charity party, and I was invited.
Because I heard that the famous "stock gods" Buffett and Bill Gates are on the guest list. That night, I took advantage of two close-up observation opportunities to carefully observe the clothes of the two "leading stars" and found that Buffett and Gates both chose the formal clothes of niche brands.
I grabbed Sophie, the wife of my husband's colleague, and asked her what brand of clothes Buffett and Gates were wearing. As a result, the senior editor of fashion magazine was at a loss and couldn't find the source. However, Sophie also made a very reasonable analysis and explanation:
People like Buffett and Gates don't need a set of Dzheniya to identify themselves. They are low-key people and are keen on charity. If they really wear Dzheniya, it looks vulgar.
Individuals and families
The deeper the British people live, the more they feel that their money values are different. Compared with China people who spend money on luxury goods, British people are more willing to spend money on maintaining family affection and family infrastructure.
Tiffany is a yoga instructor in the gym where I often go. In daily life, she always wears casual and cheap clothes, so when she told me that in order to watch a Denver Broncos game, she bought a standard football suit for everyone in her family, starting at 270 pounds, I didn't shut up for a long time.
I asked, "Didn't Tiffany want to use the money to buy some advanced new clothes and shoes for herself?"
Blinking her big blue eyes, she smiled and said, "I'd rather spend money to do something for my family than dress myself up." Many people think that the British people's affection and family values are weak, but in fact, the British people attach great importance to the emotional connection with their families.
Later, I found that even middle and lower-class Britons with limited income and frugality would not save a sum of money to buy big-name goods for themselves, but would buy and update big-name goods for their families.
Once, Lucy, who worked as a regular hourly worker in our family, asked me for leave and said that she had bought a double-door refrigerator for our family. I asked her what brand the refrigerator was, and Lucy proudly replied, "Kenmore." This brand of refrigerator is not cheap.
"For me, it is the happiest thing in the world to let my husband drink cold beer after work and let the children eat delicious ice cream after school." Looking at Lucy's simple and honest smile, I made up my mind: in a few days, I will also turn my home into a super easy-to-use big refrigerator.
What is true happiness? Some people spend all their money on wearing big names, while the British use money to live the life they want and make profits for their families and families. Which is more valuable? What's your answer?