THE MONEY OF COLOUR GIVES RISE TO A STYLISH RENAISSANCE 
 
Of the 44,000 paint finishes on offer when you buy a new Rolls-Royce, one - a distinctive shade of blue - has a special provenance.

This colour, which the upmarket vehicle maker owned by Germanys BMW refused to name, was first brought to Rolls-Royces attention two years ago by a Chinese customer who insisted on his new Phantom was painted in the colour.

It took Rolls-Royce and BASF, the Germany chemicals company, months to devise a paint exactly the right shade, but afterwards, Rolls-Royce was so pleased with the result they added it to the palette it offers to customers worldwide.

That example, while minor, highlights how Chinese consumers are exerting their purchasing power to influence global style and taste, particularly in the luxury goods market.

Retail sales in China have been growing at a rate of about 14 per cent annually and reached $983bn last year, according to government statistics.

The luxury market is still a relatively small portion of that, with consultancy OC&C estimating the size of the market will grow to $12bn next year, but it is expected to grow at a fast pace. This is driven partly by the fact that China is home to an increasing number of wealthy individuals.

The number of US dollar billionaires in China grew to 106 this year from just 14 last year, according to the Hurun rich list. Merrill Lynch and consultancy Capgemini estimate that China has the second-largest number of $1m-plus net worth individuals in Asia Pacific, behind Japan.

Influence is starting at the super-luxury level, says Rupert Hoogewerf, who compiles the Hurun China Rich List and tracks the spending habits of Chinas rich.

People have their own specific style and taste, and at the super-premium and luxury level, they want to always be different and they are willing to pay for that difference.

Many foreign luxury brands keen to cater to this growing market, have long localised their products and established research and development centres within China. Now, such Chinese-influenced designs are increasingly finding their way to consumers in other regions.

LeSportsac, the US bag maker, for example, will soon start selling a bag by Hong Kong designer Barney Cheng. Mr Chengs collaboration with LeSportsac was part of a programme partnering 10 Hong Kong designers with brands such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Georg Jensen and Herman Miller.

Chinese companies that have gone global are also increasingly exporting Chinese aesthetics to the world.

TCL Multimedia, the worlds third-biggest maker of television sets, employs 27 designers in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, and 17 in Paris. TCL - which bought the TV and DVD division of Frances Thomson and the mobile phone unit of Alcatel several years ago - now sells half its TVs outside China. The company recently prototyped a flat-screen TV that is held upright by folding its attached side speakers inwards rather than by a separate stand. The model, named Wings, was created by TCLs Shenzhen design team drawing inspiration from traditional Chinese doors.

A European could never design something like that, says Gerard Vergneau, TCLs worldwide design general manager. Even if the design were not specifically influenced by Chinese style, he adds, consumer insights from the Chinese market experience can sometimes be translated to and used in other markets.

TCLs Aboria model - a minimalist flatscreen TV that does away with spare parts like the stand - was the cheapest product we have ever made says Mr Vergneau. Designed by TCLs Paris team, it was originally intended only for the China market because in China, you need very democratic designs [that people can afford], Mr Vergneau adds.

Soon, however, retailers in Russia and other regions started asking for the model. China had a hole in the history of design [during the early communist era], but they are now catching up very quickly, says Mr Vergneau. Such Chinese designs would not have been possible 10 years ago.

The idea of a Chinese company buying the rights to a 90-year-old Italian brand would likewise have been unheard of a decade ago, but last year China Dongxiang, a sports apparel group founded in 2002, bought the ownership rights to Kappa, the Italian sportswear brand, in mainland China.

Chen Yihong, China Dongxiangs chairman and a member of Kappas global board, has repositioned the brand within China from pure sportswear into a mix of both sportswear and fashion, to avoid direct competition with groups such as Nike and Adidas.

Where Kappa in Europe sponsors football clubs such as Italys Brescia and Denmarks FC Copenahgen, Mr Chen sought out a celebrity football team to sponsor in China.

While Kappa hasnt quite followed in taking the brand in this direction in Europe, admits Mr Chen, our influence is more noticeable in Kappas strategy for other countries in Asia.

中国风向世界吹

当你购买劳斯莱斯(Rolls-Royce)新车时，在公司提供的4.4万种面漆中，有一种与众不同的蓝色，其出身非常特殊。

劳斯莱斯拒绝给这种颜色命名。它最初引起这家德国宝马(BMW)旗下高档汽车制造商的注意，是在两年前。当时，一位中国客户坚持给他的幻影(Phantom)新车喷上这种颜色。

劳斯莱斯和德国化学品公司巴斯夫(BASF)花了几个月的时间，才调出色调一模一样的面漆。但劳斯莱斯对结果非常满意，于是把这种颜色加入了向全球顾客提供的色彩目录中。

这虽然只是个小例子，却凸现出中国消费者如何正在运用自己的购买力影响全球的风格和品味，特别是在奢侈品市场。

政府统计数据显示，中国的零售额一直在以每年大约14%的速度增长，2006年达到了大约9830亿美元。

奢侈品市场在其中所占的比例仍然相对较小——据英国咨询公司OC&C估计，该市场的规模明年将增至120亿美元，但有望实现快速增长，部分原因在于中国的富裕个人越来越多。

胡润富豪榜显示，2007年，中国资产超过10亿美元的富豪达到106人，远远高于前年的14人。美林(Merrill Lynch)和咨询机构凯捷集团(Capgemini)估计，中国净资产超过百万美元的个人数量在亚太地区排名第二，仅次于日本。

编制胡润中国百富榜(Hurun China Rich List)并跟踪中国富人消费习惯的胡润(Rupert Hoogewerf)表示：“中国人的影响力开始于超级奢侈品层面。”

“人们有自己独特的风格和品味，在超高价格和奢侈品层面，他们总是希望与众不同，并愿意为这种不同付钱。”

许多国外奢侈品牌热衷于迎合这个不断增长的市场，在很早以前，它们就已经将产品本地化，并在中国建立了研发中心。如今，这类受到中国人影响的设计已经越来越多地进入了其他地区的消费市场。

例如，美国箱包生产商LeSportsac不久就会开始销售一款由香港设计师郑兆良(Barney Cheng)设计的箱包。郑兆良与LeSportsac的合作，是一个项目的一部分，旨在让10名香港设计师与萨瓦托-菲拉格慕(Salvatore Ferragamo)、Georg Jensen和Herman Miller等品牌展开合作。

已经走出国门的中国企业也越来越多地将中国的美学观点带到世界各地。

全球第三大电视机生产商TCL多媒体(TCL Multimedia)在中国南部城市深圳聘用了27名设计师，在巴黎聘用了17位。几年前，TCL买下了法国公司汤姆逊(Thomson)的电视和DVD业务，以及阿尔卡特(Alcatel)的手机子公司。现在，该公司生产的电视机有半数出口到国外。最近，TCL推出了一款平板电视原型，可以将两侧音箱向内折叠，而不是放在独立的支架上。这款电视名为Wings，设计者是TCL的深圳设计团队，灵感来自传统的中国门。

TCL全球设计总监杰拉德•沃尼奥(Gerard Vergneau)表示：“欧洲人永远不可能设计出这样的东西。”他还表示，即便这款设计没有特别受到中国风格的影响，从中国市场经验中领悟的消费理念有时也会在其它市场得到演绎和运用。

沃尼奥表示，TCL的Aboria是“我们有史以来生产的最廉价的产品”。这款平板电视只有最基本的配置，去除了支架等备件。沃尼奥还表示，由TCL巴黎团队设计的这款电视，本来只是针对中国市场的，因为“在中国，你需要（人们买得起的）非常本土化的设计”。

然而，没过多久，俄罗斯和其他地区的零售商就开始订购这款电视。沃尼奥称：“中国的设计史存在一段空白（在共产党执政初期），但他们如今快速赶了上来。在10年前，这些中国设计是不可能出现的。”

同样，在10年前，由一家中国企业购买有90年历史的意大利品牌，这种想法也是闻所未闻的，但2006年，中国动向(China Dongxiang)收购了意大利运动服装品牌Kappa在中国内地的品牌所有权。中国动向成立于2002年，是一家运动服装集团。

中国动向董事长兼Kappa全球董事陈义红在中国境内对Kappa品牌进行了重新定位，把它从一个纯运动服装品牌打造为集运动服装与时尚于一身的品牌，以避免与耐克(Nike)和阿迪达斯(Adidas)直接竞争。

在欧洲，Kappa赞助的是一些足球俱乐部，如意大利的布雷西亚(Brescia)和丹麦的哥本哈根(FC Copenahgen)，但在中国，陈义红却挑了一支名人足球队进行赞助。

虽然Kappa在欧洲没有完全让该品牌向这个方向发展，但陈义红承认，“在亚洲其他国家，我们对Kappa战略的影响力更大”。（编辑：HD）