The People’s Republic of Desire

60 Going Gaga for Designer Labels

My American girlfriend Sue is in her second year of the M.B.A. program at Purdue University. The Chinese economic changes she's seen on TV as well as the colorful Chinese life described in my e-mails have inspired her to write a China-related thesis. Her topic is foreign brand awareness in China.

After the New Year, Sue rushes to China to do research. When I tell Hugh about the subject Sue is working on, he thinks it could be a great story for Western readers to get to know the perceptions of Western brands in China.

To make the story more convincing and the research more authoritative, I have asked Lulu to conduct a national survey on Chinese women's impressions of foreign brands in Lulu's magazine Women ' s Friends. A total of 663 women, in the eighteen-to-thirty-five age bracket, mainly with office jobs, have participated and answered the survey.

After the survey results are tabulated, Sue is shocked. The brand images in China are quite different from those in the States. For example, 24 percent of women think to dine at TGI Friday's and to drink coffee at Starbucks is a symbol of wealth. And McDonald's is not deemed low-class, but rather chic. When it comes to cars, American cars are considered most prestigious: 92 percent of the participants consider a Cadillac or a Lincoln fancier than a Benz or a Lexus. Standard brands such as Lee's jeans and Ikea furniture carry no cachet in the States or Europe, but become premium here. Häagen-Dazs ice cream, which one can buy in cheap grocery stores anywhere in the States, is emblematic of fashion and money in the eyes of young Chinese women.

With the unexpected answers and data in hand, Sue believes that if she can understand the psychology behind Chinese consumers, she can land a job in any of these American companies without problems. She might even be able to select from many offers.

Lulu and I organize a talk on foreign brands in the conference room of Lulu's magazine Women ' s Friends. We've invited young women from different parts of China. On the day of the meeting, ten women come as Sue's focus group. Lulu and I also sit in on the meeting.

Sue shoots her first question. "Tell me, what does Häagen-Dazs ice cream have to do with fashion?"

A young woman named Li, with long permed hair, clad in a black miniskirt and black boots answers eagerly. "First, the Häagen-Dazs stores are very cute, always colorful and stylish, with a designer's taste. Second, it's the most expensive ice cream one can buy, the Rolls Royce of ice creams. Two coffees and one scoop of ice cream there will be more expensive than a Chinese dinner with five dishes. Because it's so expensive, most people stay away from Häagen-Dazs. The stores are lonely places. So it makes you noticeable when you walk into a Häagen-Dazs store. Sitting on the beautifully designed chairs and seeing the outside world through its glass windows, I feel on top of the world with a taste of the creamy American ice cream."

Another girl, named Ting, with gelled red hair and leather jacket, nods in agreement. "What Li said is very true. I love Häagen-Dazs so much I broke up with my boyfriend because of it."

"Why?" Sue asks, looking puzzled.

Ting says, "One day I said to my ex, citing the advertisement, 'If you love me, buy me a Häagen-Dazs ice cream.' When we walked into the store, he said he refused to spend seventy yuan on an ice cream. I decided to dump him right there."

"Why?" Sue asks.

"He simply isn't a member of the middle class yet. I want to marry somebody so that I can move up to the middle class," Ting adds dismissively.

"The middle class? What do you mean?" asks Sue.

"Someone who knows and can afford to eat Häagen-Dazs, use Ikea furniture, and wear CK's underwear."

Conspicuous consumption may be an American invention, but it has been perfected in China.

"Why Ikea?" Sue wonders, thinking Ikea isn't very upscale in the States, and is actually considered quite tacky in some quarters.

Ting continues. "I love Ikea's designs, but I can't afford it. I have to take a carpenter with me to the Ikea stores and tell him to copy their style. My dream is to own a room of Ikea furniture."

"What about cars? What is your dream car?"

"A Buick!" Another woman, Yo-Yo, jumps in.

I explain to Sue that a Buick usually costs $40,000 or more in China.

Sue is disappointed at the taste of these women, so she decides to let them know what the real fashions and tastes are.

"Do you like Versace clothes or Omega watches?" she asks the women.

"Everyone can wear Versace clothing and an Omega watch nowadays," Ting says, not impressed.

"Really?" Sue probes.

"The knockoffs, of course," I explain to Sue quietly in English.

After talking to the girls, Sue thanks Lulu and me for our help.

"So do you think it will help you land a job?" I ask Sue.

"Yes. Apparently, in order to make big bucks, I should work for GM or Häagen-Dazs Asia. Or I can go back to school to study law and become a lawyer that specializes in IPR," Sue concludes.