Luxury Brand Closely Engaging with China... Prada Sponsors Chinese Women's Soccer Team

Bulgari Apologizes Immediately Over Taiwan Country Name Controversy
Last Month, LVMH Chairman Visited China

Luxury brand Prada has signed an exclusive sponsorship contract with the China women's national football team. This is interpreted as part of a strategy to win favor with China's "big spenders" amid worsening consumer conditions due to the recent global economic downturn.

According to Chinese economic media Caixin on the 11th, Prada recently announced through China's official social networking service (SNS) Weibo that it has entered into a partnership with the China women's national football team to support their official events and provide apparel. The official Weibo account of the China women's national football team also shared this post, confirming the related contract.

This was done ahead of the 2023 FIFA Australia-New Zealand Women's World Cup, which opens on the 20th. China's women's football is relatively well-regarded, outperforming men's football in terms of achievements.

Previously, Prada had painful experiences suffering consecutive setbacks in contracts with Chinese artists. They had top actors Zheng Shuang, Li Yifeng, and Cai Xukun as models, but each faced criticism due to their scandalous lifestyles, causing damage to the brand. As a result, the phrase "Prada's curse" emerged in China.

As the economic downturn spreads, luxury brands are actively seeking new opportunities, especially focusing on China, the "big spender" in the luxury goods market. Recently, luxury brand Bulgari apologized promptly after listing Taiwan as a country on its website, which drew protests from Chinese netizens. Bulgari stated in a release, "Our position respecting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity remains steadfast as always. There was an error in the store address display due to negligence in managing overseas websites. We deeply apologize for the mistake," humbling themselves.

At the end of last month, Bernard Arnault, chairman of Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH), made an active visit to China. Accompanied by his eldest daughter Delphine Arnault, CEO of Dior, and Pietro Beccari, CEO of Louis Vuitton, he was reported to have visited stores of owned brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Bulgari while moving from Beijing Wangfujing towards the World Trade Center.

Prior to this, CEOs of other global luxury companies such as Gucci, Prada, Hugo Boss, and Burberry also visited China. According to Chinese media Ji? Mi?n X?n Yu?n citing a consulting firm's analysis, "By 2030, China will account for 40% of global luxury goods market sales, becoming the world's largest high-end consumer market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.