A McKinsey Research Perspective-coupled with a Harvard Business Review Blog
By Kathy Bloomgarden-9-11-09 (Some credentials, we'd say)

   China may become the world's foremost luxury goods market, two recent studies suggest. Wealthy Chinese citizens tend to be younger than their Western counterparts, and more than half of them say the recession isn't affecting their purchasing decisions. Most wealthy Chinese indicate that the Internet weighs heavily on their purchasing decisions, giving Western companies an inroad with this increasingly affluent group. HarvardBusiness.org/Conversation Starter blog (9/11)

   With the future of our global economy still uncertain, more and more executives are looking to China, specifically to the Chinese consumer - who just might be able to lift the global economy out of recession.

Ruder Finn Asia recently partnered with Albatross Global Solutions in developing the 2009 China Luxury Forecast, which found that, in Greater China as a whole, more than half (50.3%) of respondents claim they will not let the global economic downturn affect their purchase of luxury goods. Additionally, the Forecast found the Chinese buyer to be remarkably loyal, with nearly nine out of ten (89.3%) respondents saying they would stick to their preferred luxury brand despite the crisis.

And Chinese consumers engage with brands online. Almost 90% of the respondents in the China Luxury Forecast say they use the Internet to gain a better understanding of luxury brands and products. (Over 310 million people in China have the Internet, and the world's top blogger in terms of visits is Chinese - Xu Jinglei.) In this way, China is very similar to the US in that companies can support their marketing efforts with effective online communication.

By embracing the loyal Chinese buyer, who is increasingly becoming wealthy, consumer brands hope to drive growth and maybe - if we're lucky - pave the road to economic recovery.