金融英语：Coach is riding wave of growth in middle class

会计考友

　　US luxury handbag retailer expects sales in China to jump 75% in 2011
4 B- j- h- g6 @. ^　　SHANGHAI - The growing self-indulgence of China's middle class has proved a boon to Coach Inc, the largest maker of luxury leather handbags in the United States, leading it to expect 75 percent year-on-year sales growth in its 2011 fiscal year in China.
　　The New York-based retailer is planning to open stores at 25 locations in China in the fiscal year 2011, which ends in July, making a total of 65 Chinese stores, Lew Frankfort, chairman and chief executive officer of Coach, told China Daily on Monday.
' g' ?* g$ H& b1 n" c　　In fiscal 2010, Coach saw robust growth in China, with comparable store sales rising at a "double-digit" rate, according to its annual financial report. That compared with a 6.3 percent sales increase in the US.
2 F4 i& g( a( y8 `5 K4 n' B　　Given its late entry in the Chinese market, however, the US handbag retailer captured only about 5 percent of China's luxury market, in which total spending reached 156 billion yuan ($23.27 billion) in 2009, according to the research firm Bain & Company.
" o' T% E9 m# R! L% Y) N8 b; c4 W　　"In China, our brand awareness is still very low, around 8 percent. We're playing catch-up," Frankfort said.
, d8 ~- i$ u9 C. `) K: ^7 ^% N/ t3 k　　China is expected to eclipse Japan within five years as Coach's second-largest market after the US, he said.
  X3 a6 Z, _4 M$ F　　Japan accounted for $700 million of its sales in fiscal 2010, compared with $175 million in China. "I hope China will soon outdo Japan," Frankfort said.
　　In October, Coach said that the next phase of its international-growth strategy will focus on Asia, after its high-profile entry to the European market, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland and Portugal.
# d, A; g1 a% z8 K" a7 T, R　　In keeping with its Asia-focused strategy, the self-deemed "accessible luxury brand" appointed Jonathan Seliger - for five years the managing director of Alfred Dunhill China under the Richemont Group - president and chief executive officer of Coach China, based in Shanghai, in a bid to enhance the firm's competitive edge.
　　Many of the leading luxury brands have bet on China, a nation experiencing an exponential increase in the middle class, as their main business growth engine. Luxury brands - including Louis Vuitton, Ermenegildo Zegna and Coach - opened flagship stores in Shanghai this year, making the city a fierce retail battleground.
  c  C7 Y) r0 @: }. v8 U6 y　　"The performance of our Shanghai flagship store (opened in April) exceeded our expectations," Frankfort said.
; A* x2 b$ i  x　　China's middle class is estimated to reach 700 million by 2020, making up 48 percent of the nation's population, according to Euromonitor International, a market research firm. Meanwhile, its annual income may climb to an average of $17,700 in the next 10 years.
- a, m$ H; g1 i: o9 W2 T　　"As the middle class grows rapidly, consumer spending will increase. China will become the world's largest luxury market, but it's still at an early stage today," Frankfort said.
  U, ]% @2 a5 n% v7 M) |　　He also said that Coach plans to launch its e-commerce website in China in mid-2011 as a marketing vehicle.