beyondbrics

It might be a small deal, but Burberry’s decision to buy out the franchises of all 50 of its Chinese stores shows exactly how important the mainland market is for luxury growth – and how far China’s economic growth has spread – all the way to one of communism’s spiritual homes, in fact.

Looking through the list of stores in China, and there are some unsurprising names. Shanghai and Beijing, of course, are home to numerous stores. The Yangzi river delta – filled with rapidly developing cities feeding off Shanghai’s growth – is also rich pickings, with stores in Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, as well as nearby Hangzhou and Ningbo.

Rich, international ports like Dalian, Qingdao and Tianjin are also obvious places to open shop, while southern business dynamos like Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Shenzen are much as expected.

Even some of the inland heavyweights – Chongqing, Chengdu and Zhengzhou wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. But amongst all those names are some that might even drop jaws (well how many people could name all 30 Chinese cities worthy of a Burberry outlet?).

One stand-out is Urumqi – capital of Xinjiang province, so often preceded by the word ‘restive’. It’s only been a year since ethnic violence in the mixed Han Chinese and Uighur city left 200 people dead. The city may still be on high alert, but seems to have enough of a fan base to attract high fashion too. Its place as a hub both for fossil fuels heading east, and for consumer goods heading into Xinjiang has clearly lined a few pockets.

The capitals of China’s rustbelt north-east must also be doing well – Shenyang, Changchun and Harbin all have a store. The area used to be the hub for China’s major heavy industries. Now it’s the home of China’s agriculture – the fertile earth of the region makes it perfect for agribusiness on a major scale.

There’s even a store in the southern city of Guiyang – capital of Guizhou province, the poorest in China, with an annual per capita GDP of just $1,500 – just enough to buy one Burberry trench coat a year. Perhaps it’s the province’s rich pickings in coal – and hydro-electric power – that’s more at play here.

And then there’s Changsha, the place where Mao Zedong himself found communism. In fact, an hour or two south of Changsha is the town of Shaoshan – where Mao was born and raised.

His old home is now a museum, where you can buy Mao snow-globes and key-chains, and where the highlight of any visit, it is said, is a trip to Mao’s childhood toilet. Just don’t go in there in your Jimmy Choo’s.

Related:

Burberry press release

Burberry to buy out Chinese franchises – FT