Hermés, Gucci And Others Are Giving Super Rich Chinese Buyers Fancy Pastries

Have you eaten a Louis Vuitton?

By
Beimeng Fu
by Beimeng Fu

BuzzFeed News World Reporter

The deep pockets of Chinese buyers are a siren call for many luxury brands. That's why the newest trend, hot and fresh out the kitchen, is to bribe their customers with ~branded baked goods~.

The Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated Thursday in China and some other regions in Asia. It's a time where people talk about moon legends (or at least used to), appreciate a full moon (if lucky enough to dodge a typhoon) and of course, ate (and threw away) a lot of mooncakes.

The cakes are reportedly not for sale, but are only distributed to the companies' partners and VIP customers. They are super fancy, judging by the looks of the packages people share on social media:

In addition to Dior and Tiffany, the long list of brands also included, but is not limied to: Gucci.

Van Cleef & Arpels.

Dolce & Gabbana.

And this magical box of moving images from FENDI.

View this video on YouTube
youtube.com

BuzzFeed News reviewed the China-oriented websites and social media accounts of eight luxury brands and found no mention of the PR campaign, but fashion magazines on Weibo verified that the pictures are real.

weibo.com

"The only thing fashion editors can show off around Mid-Autumn Festival is receiving mooncakes from all kinds of big-name brands," Cosmopolitan China wrote contently. "It's happening once again this year ~either the honey-flavored mooncakes from Gucci or the jewelry box ones from Dior, each brand has unique designs in details, and these really are limited versions that money can't buy!"

Facing lower global sales growth in personal luxury goods, retailers have begun to tap into non-fashion sectors. LVMH, for instance, launched a portal that sells wine products over a decade ago.

lvmh.com

In recent years, Dior opened a café in Seoul, while Gucci runs a restaurant in Shanghai's fashion landmark mall that's the brand's first in the world.

These companies have a reason to treat China differently — China has long been THE market luxury brands can't afford to lose. By one estimate, Chinese shoppers account for more than 20% of the global luxury market, while by another the figure is 50%.

Aly Song / Reuters

And the figures might have not counted in the Chinese shoppers who spent $183 billion overseas last year. To make that clear, that is $74 million spent in the US PER DAY.

Mooncake has lately developed an image as an expensive gifts for some in China. As odd as it may seem, is not just another pastry.

Jon Woo / Reuters

Since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012, an anti-corruption campaign has been in place against official extravagance, and mooncakes as gifts are among the main targets in crackdown.

Anyway, it's still Mid-Autumn Festival for most of the US so grab a mooncake in the Chinatown of your city and join the moon-appreciation!

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