What high-end Chinese shoppers buy in Tokyo

Japanese cosmetics and beauty products, niche brands, luxury items – and lots of them...

No longer simply binge buyers, Chinese shoppers in Tokyo have become more deliberate and savvy about their shopping, favouring unique Japanese brands and quality international luxury items – and always looking for a bargain. While some Chinese customers may prefer to buy from established Japanese brands such as Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Adore, Tomorrowland and Hyke, they do not eschew international brands. Major luxury watch and jewellery brands, including Rolex, Mikimoto, Tasaki, Bulgari, Tiffany, Patek Philippe, Chaumet and Graff, are also popular. Shiei Kimura, originally from Hong Kong, has been in Japan for 28 years, the past 12 of which she has spent working for the flagship Isetan store in Shinjuku, Tokyo. First providing service to international customers at the store’s tax free counter, she now works in VIP customer service, helping the high-spending foreign customers who have become more common in recent years. Each day she is sent to different sections of the store to provide Chinese or English interpretation and other services to these customers.

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The crazy rich Asians of Hong Kong and what they spend big on

Hong Kong has 93 US dollar billionaires (compared to Singapore’s 44) and being a millionaire is nothing special these days. Hong Kong has a million people with liquid assets of HK$1 million (US$127,300) or more, and their numbers are swelling by about 15 per cent annually, according to a Citibank report. The cash is certainly out there, as a scroll down Forbes’ annual rich list will attest. Hong Kong is home to nine of Asia’s 50 richest families, it shows – not bad for a city of about 7.5 million people. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s 50 richest individuals are collectively worth an estimated US$307 billion. 

cars, collectibles, experiences, and property – the source of their wealth

Mathew Scott
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Rajasthan's Jawai Leopard Camp - luxury safari

Based on the idea of a moveable camp, it's all canvas and metal with a black, white and red colour scheme inspired by the local Rabari herdsmen's outfits and their striking scarlet turbans. Stunning black and white photographs of leopards and shepherds are everywhere. Lounging and dining take place in two open-sided communal tents overlooking the rocky Aravalli hills. The guest tents are a short walk away - after nightfall and before dawn (more of which later) you'll be guided back and forth by lantern light.

Rates start at 59,000 rupees (HK$6,820) per tent, plus taxes and a conservation contribution of 1,000 rupees per person, per night. The rate includes all meals, two wilderness drives a day, Wi-fi and laundry. For more details, go to www.sujanluxury.com/jawai.

BY GILLIAN RHYS

4 JUN 2016

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Indonesia’s Cempedak Island resort

From S$450 (HK$2,500) per night plus taxes for a Sea View villa; S$95 per person per day extra for full board. Cempedak – the common name for the tree known to Latin speakers as Artocarpus integer – is a new private island resort off the east coast of Indonesia’s Bintan Island. It is from the same team behind nearby Nikoi Island, another Robinson Crusoe-esque set up. 
BY GILLIAN RHYS

8 APR 2017

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The Crazy Rich Asians guide to Singapore

Just as New York was to Sex and the City, so Singapore is to  Crazy Rich Asians .

The Lion City doesn’t just hold its own among a cast that includes Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, Constance Wu, Awkwafina and Jimmy O. Yang, it’s a veritable scene stealer. Although the film, based on a 2013 novel by Kevin Kwan  about super-wealthy Chinese Singaporeans and their ultra lavish lifestyles – and currently showing in Hong Kong cinemas – was shot mostly in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore shines in a series of panoramic shots and glamorous location close-ups.

BY GILLIAN RHYS

23 AUG 2018

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Would you pay US$250,000 for a wine journey ?

Ever wanted to create your own personal blend of fine wine? The bigger question, however, is: would you be willing to pay US$250,000 (around HK$1.9 million) for it?

Diehard vino lovers with deep enough pockets will get to find out if the price tag is worth it when they join the Ultimate Barossa Australia Wine Experience, which takes place across seven days. The Barossa winemaking region is north of Adelaide in South Australia.

The region is quickly earning itself a reputation as a wine destination, with robust reds and complex whites doing all the talking (while you do the drinking). In short, South Australia is the vino expert’s best-kept secret.

BY KIM SOO-JIN

27 AUG 2018

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At just 27, Jennifer Lawrence has already slipped into a wide range of life-changing roles: Her breakout role in 2010's Winter's Bone put her on the map and landed her an Academy Award nomination, her turn as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games series made her a certified star, and, of course, 2012's Silver Linings Playbook led to her taking home the Best Actress Oscar. But, as Lawrence explained on Howard Stern's radio show this week, there's still one role she didn't get that haunts her to this day.

"The one thing that really killed me, like the only time I've ever been truly devastated by losing an audition―'cause most of the time you're like, 'Ah, wasn't meant to be, move on, what can you do?'―was Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland," she said. "That one devastated me." The role of Alice ended up going to Mia Wasikowska, who Lawrence conceded was "perfect and amazing" in the role—plus, "I couldn't have had a British accent," she admitted.

www.wmagazine.com/

by 

Andrea Park

March 2, 2018 11:10 am

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