Affinity China Dragon Week NYC Press

Dragon Week NYC in Press

Affinity China

Empire State Building

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WWD.com/retail-news/trends-analysis/tapping-into-a-new-market-the-chinese-mega-rich-5539028

January 20, 2012

By Lara Farrar

BEIJING — If you happen to be in Manhattan Wednesday

evening and are near the Empire State Building, you may notice

that sometime between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. the lights on top of

the building will suddenly change to colors of very bright red

and gold.

The red and gold lighting is happening, in part, to celebrate

Chinese New Year, a weeklong holiday that begins Monday. But

even more so, the Empire State Building will change colors in

honor of the 300 or so megarich Chinese who will be inside

sipping expensive alcohol at a private gala on the building’s

80th floor.

No doubt there are countless increasingly rich Chinese

traveling overseas who book tours on cramped buses with

packed itineraries in New York and other cities around the

world. What makes this group different is who they are, how

much they are worth, what they do and, in particular, what they

will be doing in the Big Apple from Sunday to Friday.

RELATED STORY: Chinese Retailers Prepare for New

Year Holiday >>

The tour, called Dragon Week NYC to coincide with the fact

that, according to Chinese astrology, 2012 is the Year of the

Dragon, is organized by Affinity China, a start-up that bills

itself as a “private network offering exclusive luxury lifestyle

events and unique travel opportunities” to its Chinese

members, who can join the network by invitation only.

Last May, the group organized a trip for 20 Chinese VIPs to

stay in a mansion in the Hamptons and sail yachts in Sag

Harbor. Fifty of its members were invited to a private cocktail

party at the Mandarin Oriental in New York with Chinese

tennis star Li Na just before the U.S. Open at the end of August.

Later in the fall, Affinity held an exclusive dinner in Shanghai

with an executive from Hermès’ China operations, along with

executives from New York and France, who flew over to

personally showcase wine and cheese from their companies to

the guests.

Among Affinity’s founders are a Taiwanese who is based in Los

Tapping Into a New Market: The Chinese Mega Rich - Trends/Analysis - ... http://www.wwd.com/retail-news/trends-analysis/tapping-into-a-new-ma...

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WWD.com/eye/lifestyle/bergdorf-goodman-designers-court-chinese-5572400

January 26, 2012

By Lara Farrar

Luo Zilin in the Bergdorf Goodman fashion show.

Photo By Jenna Greene

Dragon Week Caters to China's Rich - Lifestyle - Eye - WWD.com http://www.wwd.com/eye/lifestyle/bergdorf-goodman-designers-court-ch...

1 of 4 1/27/2012 9:56 AM

Linda Fargo


Oscar de la Renta and Diane von Furstenberg


Dragon Week guests tour Estée Lauder’s office.


NEW YORK — It wasn’t that Dragon Week NYC did not go off

as expected, but rather that those involved with the weeklong

luxury trip for rich Chinese to Manhattan didn’t really seem to

know exactly what to expect.

“It was a learning experience for everyone,” said Christine Lu, a

co-founder of Affinity China, the company that organized the

trip, which began in New York on Sunday. “The story is not

finished yet.”

The tale of the excursion was that it was one filled with nothing

short of impressive, exclusive events for those who signed up to

take part in Dragon Week, named so due to the fact that 2012 is

the Year of the Dragon according to Chinese astrology.

Gilles Mendel gave guests a private tour of the J.Mendel atelier,

while Montblanc invited Lang Lang, an internationally

renowned pianist, for a private performance in the brand’s

Madison Avenue boutique. Linda Fargo, the senior vice

president of Bergdorf Goodman’s fashion office and store

presentation, emceed a private fashion show at the store, which

was followed by a cocktail party and dinner attended by

designers including Oscar de la Renta, Diane von Furstenberg,

Naeem Khan, Zac Posen, Marchesa’s Georgina Chapman and

Keren Craig, VBH’s Bruce Hoeksema and Peter Som.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg made a brief appearance

at the Empire State Building for a gala and lighting ceremony

in which the building’s top turned to hues of gold and orange to

celebrate Chinese New Year. Yue-Sai Kan, a Chinese-American

TV personality, and Luo Zilin, China’s entrant in the 2011 Miss

Universe pageant, made frequent appearances throughout the

week. Ralph Lauren, Piaget and Coach held private shopping

events. Estée Lauder had a reception hosted by Aerin Lauder,

the brand’s style and image director, at its world headquarters.

Those were the main attractions. The side story of the week was

that not that many Chinese actually showed up. Affinity China,

which bills itself as a concierge service aimed at reaching a

growing demographic of a more affluent, culturally discerning

group of Mainlanders traveling overseas, said 300 access cards

were given out. While some events capped the number of people

who could come, the average attendance numbered, at best,

around 20, and, at times, fewer than a dozen.

Many of those who attended already live in the U.S., are

second-generation Chinese studying at American colleges or are

not Chinese. Affinity China said more Mainland Chinese were

slated to come but canceled at the last minute due to visa issues

or because they preferred to stay home with their families over

Chinese New Year.

The fact that not that many Mainland Chinese attended didn’t

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2 of 4 1/27/2012 9:56 AM

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Piaget, a watch brand, unveiled a $58,000 timepiece engraved with a gold dragon. Estée

Lauder gave them a tour of its eponymous founder’s corner office and the first samples of

an expensive new eye balm. J Mendel, a fur coat maker, showed them its workshop.

According to provisional figures from the Chinese Tourism Academy, Chinese took 70m

overseas trips in 2011 and spent a total of $69bn, an increase of 25 per cent from the

previous year. They are also increasingly discerning.

Even when luxury brands get the basics of hiring Mandarin speakers and accepting the

China UnionPay credit card, Ms Lu says that misunderstandings with the wealthy can still

arise.

Western luxury retailers like to ingratiate themselves by building “unique relationships”

that depend on employees learning about customers’ lives and anticipating their needs.

But Ms Lu says that China engenders a “natural distrust” of pushy sales associates and

that many of the rich guard their privacy jealously. “We cater to a demographic that

doesn’t want you to know who they are.”

Retailers can also make the error of judging people by appearances. “I remember one

guy,” says Kaan Cedric Turk, US general manager for Zilli, a French clothes maker that

sells a $26,000 ostrich leather jacket.

“He came without speaking a word of English. Wearing sneakers and a raincoat … And he

spent an amount of money that was mind-boggling.”

Bain & Co says that in 2010 one-quarter of the Rmb212bn that mainland Chinese spent on

luxuries was outside the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau. Coach, the handbag brand,

says that at peak travel times Chinese tourists can account for 15-20 per cent of its sales

in New York, Las Vegas and Hawaii.

While ordinary Chinese overwhelmingly prefer group travel, research by the Hurun

Report last year found that 80 per cent of the wealthy eschew it and its association with

hurried bus tours.

Dragon Week provides the opposite. “It’s kind of like a concierge service, offering them

access and experiences they can’t get otherwise,” says Renee Hartman of the China

Luxury Network, part of Affinity China.

Champagne is abundant and the guests – most of them under 50 and proficient in English

1/30/12 Luxury brands long to bond with China!s elite - FT.com

1/3www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b0e42a86-48ac-11e1-954a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1kvbw7DQ3

picn

Last updated: January 27, 2012 6:02 pm

Luxury brands long to bondwith China’s eliteBy Barney Jopson in New York

Diamond earrings glistened, stiletto heels tapped

and the sequins on a mermaid gown shimmered

as Miss China sashayed down a New York

catwalk, passing within a perfume waft of a

compatriot named Lina Li.

Ms Li was among a group of wealthy Chinese who

had paid for a behind-the-scenes glimpse of

western luxury at Bergdorf Goodman, a genteel

department store for the affluently elegant, which

put on a fashion show in their honour this week.

“I liked it a lot. It was my first fashion show,” said an enthusiastic Ms Li. She glanced

down at her sweater and jeans and added sheepishly: “I didn’t dress properly.”

The co-founder of a Shanghai recruitment agency, Ms Li is the kind of person that

Bergdorf Goodman and other luxury retailers want to meet. But if the feeling is mutual,

so is a measure of puzzled incomprehension.

Chinese shoppers have become a fixture of the luxury retail scene in the US and Europe,

drawn by prices that can be up to 50 per cent lower than tax-elevated levels at home. But

many upscale brands have yet to bond with the truly wealthy – China’s million

millionaires.

“It’s like they’re dancing with each other but sometimes going past each other,” says

Christine Lu, co-founder and chief executive of Affinity China, a luxury club that

organised the New York tour, named Dragon Week, to coincide with the lunar new year.

That is why several brands agreed to host some of the 80-plus Chinese participants,

among them Mont Blanc, the pen maker, which squeezed a Steinway piano into a store for

a recital by Lang Lang, the Chinese pianist.

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Haute Living

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Jan/Feb 2012

by Anna Dysinger

Jan 26, 2012 12:30 PM

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Chinese Tourists Receive Luxury Treatment During Dragon Week

NYC

A group of wealthy Chinese is receiving luxury treatment during Dragon Week NYC, complete with private

fashion shows and designer mingling. The weeklong tour is organized by A!nity China, a private network

that connects invited members with luxury lifestyle events and unique travel opportunities.

Approximately 70 tourists—both from China and the United States—are taking part in Dragon Week NYC.

The tour began Sunday evening when participants attended a cocktail party at Yue-Sai Kan’s townhouse in

Sutton Square. Notable attendees included Bill Brobston, Victor Luis, Bruce Hoeksema and Luo Zilin, who

competed for China in the 2011 Miss Universe pageant.

Monday morning, the group received a private tour of J. Mendel’s atelier by Gilles Mendel, followed by a

performance by Chinese pianist Lang Lang in Montblanc on Madison Ave. Tuesday, Bergdorf Goodman

hosted a fashion show, emceed by Linda Fargo. The show featured spring/summer 2012 collections from

designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Louboutin and Givenchy. Following the show was a cocktail

party and dinner, attended by Oscar de la Renta, Diane von Furstenberg, Naeem Khan, Georgina Chapman,

Keren Craig and Zac Posen.

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2/2/12 Haute Event: Chinese New Year Celebration with Montblanc and Lang Lang | Haute Living Magazine

1/6www.hauteliving.com/2012/01/haute-event-chinese-new-year-celebration-with-montblanc-and-lang-lang/


by Wael Alexander Davis

Haute Event: Chinese New Year Celebratio!n with Montblanc and

Lang Lang

To celebrate the launch of Dragon Week, a series of exclusive events in New York organized by the

membership-based network Affinity China and the China Luxury Network started off with a bang with

China’s most famous classical pianist, Lang Lang. Lang Lang gave a moving private performance at the

Montblanc flagship store on Madison Avenue. The night begin with a short speech given by Lang Lang to

party attendees including Montblanc North America CEO Jan-Patrick Schmitz, Yue-Sai Kan and dozens of

other people. Lang currently serves as the chairman of the Montblanc Culture Foundation and the brand’s

ambassador of culture, using his position to spark a greater interest in classical music. Lang Lang was

gracious enough to answer few questions exclusively for Haute Living.

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1/6www.hauteliving.com/2012/01/haute-event-chinese-new-year-celebration-with-montblanc-and-lang-lang/


by Wael Alexander Davis

Haute Event: Chinese New Year Celebratio!n with Montblanc and

Lang Lang

To celebrate the launch of Dragon Week, a series of exclusive events in New York organized by the

membership-based network Affinity China and the China Luxury Network started off with a bang with

China’s most famous classical pianist, Lang Lang. Lang Lang gave a moving private performance at the

Montblanc flagship store on Madison Avenue. The night begin with a short speech given by Lang Lang to

party attendees including Montblanc North America CEO Jan-Patrick Schmitz, Yue-Sai Kan and dozens of

other people. Lang currently serves as the chairman of the Montblanc Culture Foundation and the brand’s

ambassador of culture, using his position to spark a greater interest in classical music. Lang Lang was

gracious enough to answer few questions exclusively for Haute Living.

MOST POPULAR

4 comment(s) Like

4 comment(s) Like



with the...

Marilyn Monroe Portrait Made

from 6...

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