Following the Yuan

🔴 How Xiaohongshu is Shaping the Future of Sports in China. Xiaohongshu, also known as RED, is rapidly transforming the sports landscape in China. Although the platform initially focused on lifestyle content with a predominantly female audience, it has now evolved to include a more balanced demographic and a variety of interests, including sports. 🎯 Strategic Promotions and Activations The turning point for RED came in August, when it began promoting itself with Mbappé, the first signed athlete of the platform, strategically filming a video in Paris during the Olympics period. RED is now actively participating in athlete tours in China, such as those by David Beckham, and creating engaging campaigns to foster sports-related conversations. 🏀 NBA Presence on RED Currently, no more than 20 NBA players and legends, such as Jayson Tatum, Ja Morant or Stephon Marbury, are active on RED. While the NBA has yet to formalize an agreement with the platform, such a partnership seems imminent. 🫂 Community Building and Lifestyle Influence Athletes and brands should prioritize community-building on RED, presenting themselves as lifestyle influencers rather than just sports figures. This approach offers new opportunities to engage with larger audiences and aligns with the platform's culture. 💰 Commercial Collaborations and E-commerce RED is particularly friendly towards creating commercial collaborative content and integrating e-commerce, which the platform actively promotes. This makes it an ideal space for athletes and brands to explore new revenue streams. 🔎 User Behavior and Search Engine Functionality One key factor in RED's success is its unique user behavior. People primarily use it as a search engine rather than a traditional social media platform. This behavior explains why, despite its popularity, fanbases on RED are still relatively small. However, the exposure potential is significant. 📈 Growth of Sports Communities Sports communities on RED have grown similarly to early skin care and travel communities. Grassroots amateur sports like cycling, Frisbee, and flag football were among the first to gain traction. The platform's recommendation-based content has been crucial in this growth. These insights and more can be found in our just published '2024 Basketball Digital Performance Index for China'. Download the full report below ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gApj4QYk #Xiaohongshu #NBAChina #ChinaSocialMedia

[People’s Square London Events Noticeboard: December 2024] The December list for China events in London is out! Wednesday, December 4, 2pm 🍲 International Forum on the Global Expansion of Chinese Cuisine https://lnkd.in/e-uSQCw7 Organiser: SIDCC Entry: Free Thursday, December 5, 8am 💹 Webinar: Understanding the Economic Debate in Beijing Today https://lnkd.in/eEquhPyV Organiser: China Macro Group (CMG) Entry: Free Thursday, December 5, 3pm 🛍️ Webinar: Analysing Double 11 and Successful Social Commerce https://lnkd.in/e4PmQ_3h Organiser: YASO Entry: Free Tuesday, December 10, 12.30pm 💹 How Economic Bureaucrats Make Policies and Remake the Chinese State https://lnkd.in/eVbVRvp9 Organiser: The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Entry: Free Wednesday, December 11, 8.30am 🐫 Private View of 'A Silk Road Oasis' at the British Library https://lnkd.in/exsm-7xV Organiser: Knowledge Quarter Entry: Free Thursday, December 12, 10am 🙋♀️ Ten Knives: She Fights (Exploring the Strength of Women in China) https://lnkd.in/e8aNawbc Organiser: CMCI Winter Festival King's College London Entry: Free Tuesday, December 17, 6pm 🍻 China Nerdfest Christmas Drinks https://lu.ma/v58xf34z Entry: Free, but by approval only September to February 🏛 Silk Roads Exhibition https://lnkd.in/et_gdMQX Organiser: British Museum Entry: ££ August to December, Weekly 🏛 British Museum Out-of-hours Tour: An Introduction to China https://lnkd.in/gpj9ANAH Organiser: British Museum Entry: ££ **** ⚠ Please note People's Square is not affiliated with or involved in organising the above events, we create this list to make China events in London more accessible. Some event titles are edited to be shorter and clear for social media. For any questions about an event, please directly contact the organiser. If you want to share this list on your platform, please do give us a credit and link back so that we can make our community stronger together.⚠

New year, new FAQ…from our founder Yaling Jiang: - Who are you? - What’s your [research] methodology? - What’s the deal with ApertureChina? - Have you worked at a large consultancy before? - Why is your content seemingly more political than other newsletters/consultancies? Aren’t you afraid that the negative information about China will scare your potential clients away? Let us know if you have more Qs for us! https://lnkd.in/gw6DUa_x

Recent discussions around Chinese consumer sentiment frequently emphasize on "value". This resonates with what we uncovered in mid-2023 during interviews conducted for newsletter Following the Yuan: "The middle-class Chinese consumers are showing a clear preference for valuable experiences and items. The term 'value' can encompass both products they truly appreciate, as well as discounts." Direct intelligence from consumers can have long-lasting impact and help you stay ahead of the curve. And we want to help you get there. Send us a DM or drop us a note to share what you'd like to uncover about your customers: yaling@aperturechina.com

Do global investors share the optimism after Beijing’s vocal support this week? Mia Castagnone Enoch Yiu Global CEOs see new hopes, old threats in Hong Kong vs Trump 2.0 https://lnkd.in/gGwzDCNf Get instant updates with the SCMP app. Download now: https://lnkd.in/g5w78zQr

In addition to Yaling Jiang and our contributors' writing, we are trying something new to fill the information gap between China and the world: To let you hear from Chinese consumers directly on specific topics. Often, the distinctive details, thoughts and emotions that reflect the complexity of life in China doesn't get across to international headlines, or over the Great Firewall. This edition features two translated blog posts from a female consumer who’s in the import/export beauty industry, originally from Shanghai, is recently divorced and is raising a young child. Read her thoughts on failures of businesses with a pre-paid model: #Chineseconsumers #prepaid #Chinamarket https://lnkd.in/geMhRgPA

We are proud to have identified issues faced by Ralph Lauren during Double 11 weeks ahead of mainstream media and platforms, including the Weibo trending list. Recently, some consumers used their products as “order fillers” to reach discount thresholds. This behavior may be partly due to lingering resentment over RL’s 2020 statements on Xinjiang cotton, which some consumers now view as “anti-Chinese.” Tmall has since responded, stating that the return rate isn’t that high, though it did not disclose specific figures. Other e-commerce merchants note that apparel return rates have risen sharply this year, with figures between 50% to 75% in some cases. Stay ahead of the curve by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://lnkd.in/gKU39FQm #Double11 #ecommerce #chinamarket #chineseconsumers #tmall #taobao #jdcom #ralphlauren

▪️Louis Vuitton delayed the opening of its Sanlitun Taikoo Li flagship to 2025. Other LVMH brand launches in China have been postponed. ▫️Store closures (Louis Vuitton in Shenyang Zhuozhan and Gucci in Taiyuan Wangfujing) reflect sluggish luxury demand and consumer fatigue. 🔹The shuttering of Shenyang Zhuozhan Shopping Center highlights challenges for high-end malls to maintain tenant and shopper interest. 🔸OTB Group brands, such as Maison Margiela, Marni, and Jil Sander, have downsized their footprint from major cities like Shanghai, Xiamen, and Hong Kong to recalibrate their China strategy. 🔺The current luxury slowdown in China mirrors the correction in 2014 and 2015, when brands like LV and Prada scaled back overextended store networks. Full story：

How can Starbucks make the brand and products interesting in China again? What changes should they make?

The new consumer news digests feature Double 11, Ralph Lauren , China key fitness industry player Will's, ClassPass, and more 📣 1. Double 11: How Ralph Lauren becomes the victim of China’s e-commerce loopholes 2. The fall of big players in China’s fitness industry: Will’s and ClassPass 📄 Flip through the stories and read more at: https://lnkd.in/gKU39FQm Follow us on Substack: https://lnkd.in/gRJsqN_k #double11 #ralphlauren #chineseshopping #addon #Tmall #1111 #Chinesemarket #Chineseconsumption #Chinesesocialmedia #chinesenews