London 2012 providing boost to ‘Brand Britain’ - sportbusiness.com
A survey of 6,000 consumers by Deloitte, the official professional services provider to London 2012, found that around 80% of respondents from China and India are more likely to want to visit Britain in light of the publicity surrounding the Games. More than 60% say they would like to buy more British products, whilst 77% want to learn more about the UK as a whole. The research also shows that 76% of respondents in China and India associate the Olympic Games with the UK, a higher proportion than consumers elsewhere in Europe or the United States. Only the UK’s history, universities and London itself are attributes more closely associated with the UK in the minds of Chinese and Indian consumers.
“London 2012 clearly provides a direct and immediate opportunity for consumer businesses,” said Nigel Wixcey, UK head of consumer business at Deloitte. “However, our research shows the potential is there for a longer term benefit too, but only if companies are prepared to exploit the opportunity. As the global population is evolving, so consumer spending power is shifting. The emerging middle classes of China and India are increasingly powerful consumers of Western goods – both as visiting tourists and increasingly as strong consumer markets develop in their home countries. This trend will continue to accelerate over the next few years.”
Deloitte has noted that the impact of the publicity surrounding the Games has not been so pronounced in Europe and the US. However, despite this around half of consumers surveyed in France, Germany and the US said they are more interested in visiting Britain as a result of publicity surrounding the Games, whilst roughly a fifth would like to buy more British products.
Simon Oaten, director in the consumer business industry at Deloitte, added: “There has always been a strong underlying demand to visit Britain, but London 2012 is giving the UK a shot in the arm. Given the UK economy’s growth prospects, it is important for consumer businesses to develop relationships with overseas customers, particularly from markets such as India and China. Retailers and hospitality operators in the UK who understand the shifting global demographics will reap the rewards. London 2012 provides the UK with a unique moment, a unique competitive edge over other countries.”
Fine and dandy: London's men's fashion shows - The Guardian
The menswear industry used to be a little on the lean side – the Stan Laurel to womenswear's Oliver Hardy. The numbers were smaller but the sizes larger, and the places to find it few and far between. Step into a department store and you'd have to wade through armies of girls squirting Estée Lauder Happy to find the escalator that led you to all things manly; visit a fashion website and you'd hope there'd be a small tab tucked away on the side indicating that there might be a little for him as well as a lot for her.
Well, all that has changed. The menswear industry may never rival that of womenswear, but it's growing up mightily quick. So quickly, in fact, that the British Fashion Council has finally deemed it necessary for menswear to have its very own fashion week. London Collections: Men launches this June with a three-day festival of shows, parties, exhibitions, dinners and talks. The fact that London's menswear shows will now be on the fashion calendar alongside those of Milan and Paris is no mean feat and is the reason why both the mayoral office and HRH the Prince of Wales are lending their support – the latter is to celebrate the occasion with a party in the state apartments of St James's Palace.
This is no vanity exercise. In the past year or two, menswear sales have gained momentum across the world. In the States, a key territory for most British designers, last year men's clothing sales increased by 4% to $55.71bn. Department stores such as Selfridges and Harrods have invested unprecedented space in their menswear floors recently, and it's no coincidence that last year Net-a-Porter decided the time was right to launch a brother e-commerce site for its successful womenswear one. As editor-in-chief of mrporter.com, I was delighted to sit on the London Collections committee (our own bash on the Friday night will probably be a little racier than HRH's).
So why, with a wobbly economy, have the sales of men's fashion – especially at the luxury end – taken a turn for the better? First, Asia, and especially China, has proved to be a huge growing market, with a strong appetite for designer brands with clout and heritage – many of which are British. And in times of increased competitiveness in the workplace, most men realise the importance of looking smarter, stronger and fitter. Sales of tailored clothing jumped 26% in the 12 months to February, with a lot of vendors seeing a sharp rise in their made-to-measure business.
There's also the sense that when times are tough and news is bleak we seek comfort in the things that surround us. This spring, for example, retailers have seen surprisingly strong sales of brightly coloured shirts and trousers. Not long ago, you would never have imagined that our city centres would be populated by men happily sporting emerald-green trousers, pastel-pink patterned polos and dusty-blue suede brogues (step forward, Prince Harry).
The joy, and saving grace, of the British men's fashion industry is that it has so many facets: Savile Row, an institution whose traditions and aesthetics are copied the world over; a shoe industry in Northampton that boasts unparalleled levels of craftsmanship and expertise; and a neverending supply of talented and innovative young designers emerging from the country's leading fashion colleges. All these and more will be celebrated in London as the ideas, talent, polish and skills of the British menswear industry are paraded in front of an international audience – not just those seated at the events, but also those eagerly watching on Twitter, Facebook, street-style blogs and magazine websites.
And not only have the country's leading style makers, magazine editors and industry leaders come together to support this venture, but so, too, has a host of fashion-conscious celebrities, including David Walliams, Tinie Tempah, David Furnish, David Gandy and Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens.
If you're still wondering what all the fuss is about, take a look at some of the talent here that will be on display in June. British menswear is looking very fine and dandy indeed.
London Collections: Men runs from 15-17 June. For more information, go to londoncollections.co.uk
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