Luxury goods companies are making great efforts for VIP buyers from China

  What rich Chinese want now? Luxury goods companies are trying everything from auctions for practical advice on how to., The big spenders who have had their fill of shopping in glittering glitzy shopping malls to attract

The need to find an answer has more urgent as the competition heats a breather and sales in China.

This explains why China-based Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd. 1929.HK -0.52% goes to great lengths to engage their best customers. The jeweler has over 1,800 outlets, mostly in the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong.

Last weekend, as the jeweler first 200 customers at the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong for a rally that featured an auction of jewelry auction and dinner. Chow Tai Fook flew over 100 employees with personalities, mostly from the People's Republic of China which are deal.

It was not just high-profile clients. Everyone bought a piece of jewelry worth one million yuan ($ 163,000) or more. They were treated to a wine tasting, an investment speeches and what personal cosmetics. The goal was 15 pieces of jewelry that sell already gone on a six-city tour to generate interest.

At a dinner until almost midnight, the auctioneer Beijing Poly International Auction higher bids took persuaded by the mass of the models went from table to table to offer a close-up view. Chow Tai Fook has partly accepted $ 4,000,000 for his efforts, nearly a quarter higher than it was in 2012, because there are more pieces this year.

"VIP as auction," said Adrian Cheng, Executive Director of Chow Tai Fook. "Previously, customers liked to go to parties around the world. Now they want exclusive preview dinner. Previously, she wanted to visit museums. Now they want to make an artist.'s Experience that they want change."

The challenge for the company of luxury goods is to meet the changing needs of Chinese consumers. More sophisticated tastes, judging by the way people dressed in the event. (There are exceptions: A man wearing a simple t-shirt bought at the event a few pieces of several million yuan.)

This challenge is particularly acute for Chow Tai Fook. The shares have one-third of its value since its IPO in December 2011 lost amid a decline in same-store sales, in part because of the government crackdown on official gifts.

Part of the problem is that the fancy brands are everywhere in China. Gucci, a unit of PPR SA, PP.FR -2.19% has eight stores in Shanghai alone. This is in contrast a number of years, have to fight as a luxury retailer to find good sites.

"We asked for space." Said Francis Gouten of Gouten Consulting, former CEO of Richemont in Asia. The tables were turned on, and the real estate companies are pushing retailers to add more stores as the market is saturated. "Now pray developer brands to be there."

Such as shopping centers to become more mature, they must be new ideas, such as food, social media, and a system of customer relationship management, to allow customers to get involved.

La Maison du Chocolat said sales grow strongly in Hong Kong. Chinese tourists handmade by the texture of the chocolate and French luxury boxes are attracted, Florent Billioud said operations director for Greater China and Southeast Asia.

"You want a differentiated environment, a space that create all the time changes of," said Andrew Keith, president of Lane Crawford, the luxury department store in Hong Kong. "I do not think you can just open a shop and hope that people walk in."

To Harbour City shopping mall in Hong Kong, means putting in the now famous rubber duck of 54 feet, which inflated a sensation caused among Chinese tourists.

There are still some markets, such as the western Chinese cities, where people go to the store. But Beijing, which represents a quarter of the number of dignitaries and more than a quarter of the VIP sales Chow Tai Fook, wholesale exclusivity, including shows jewelery at home want, Mr. Cheng said.

Price and comfort are important. Even billionaires who can afford all sometimes ask, "Can I wear to work and then to a cocktail party Mr Cheng said Chinese are very practical people, and they want to justify their purchases?..

Brand exclusivity is another option. Givenchy offers exclusive products and chose his best discounts, said Sebastian Suhl, CEO.

Creating a unique experience is important for Chinese customers, but more importantly, it's always about the products. "It's back to basics, what they really want and deliver it to them," Cheng said. "It is easier said than done."