Hong Kong fashion brand Shanghai Tang has been sold to Italian entrepreneur Alessandro Bastagli and Hong Kong-based consumer-focused private equity fund Cassia Investments. Shanghai Tang’s owner Richemont Group sold the brand on June 30. Shanghai Tang was founded by Hong Kong businessman David Tang in 1994 in Hong Kong. Swiss luxury group Richemont took a controlling stake in 1998, and acquired full ownership in 2008. The brand’s new owners said in a statement that they were hoping to expand into new markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Shanghai Tang has 32 boutiques, primarily in Asia, but also has a presence in London and Miami. Bastagli is owner of Italian fashion producer A Moda and textile maker Lineapiù. The Richemont group saw its operating profit fall by 14% for the 12 months to March 31 this year. “The disposal of Shanghai Tang is a logical step,” Rene Weber, Analyst at Vontobel said. Neither Richemont nor Cassia Investments disclosed how much the deal was worth.

Delivery company SF Holding has obtained a landmark license from the military authorities to use drones to deliver commercial packages and is showcasing the country’s first drone pilot demonstration zone in the city of Ganzhou in Jiangxi province. SF said it has launched several types of drones for delivery services, with a maximum load capacity of 25 kilograms and flying distance of 100 kilometers. SF has invested in a smart distribution logistics and drone delivery system, and has taken out 151 patents. It has established a specialized drone R&D and business operations system. Zhao Xiaomin, a logistics market consultant in Shanghai, said SF will expand its drone delivery services to third and fourth-tier cities, and some undeveloped and remote regions. JD.com, China’s second biggest e-commerce player, has also been developing drone deliveries to meet the rising retail demand in China’s rural areas. On June 18 it began using drones to regularly deliver packages in Xian. JD also said it will build 150 operation sites for drone delivery in Sichuan to help reduce freight costs by 70%. Pan Xuefei, Senior Analyst at market research firm IDC, said drones were mainly used to improve delivery efficiency in remote mountainous areas and sparsely populated areas, the China Daily reports.

China is about to undergo a consumer revolution driven by an emerging group of 34 million “mass affluent” consumers who have built their personal wealth in the new economy, according to a report by Oliver Wyman. Spending by this emerging demographic, which represents 2.5% of China’s population, is set to rise, such that by 2020 they will account for more than 75% of the country’s total consumption. They are the “mass affluent”, generally young, tech-savvy individuals with CNY650,000 to CNY6 million of investable assets, who are more free spending than their Western counterparts. The survey, which polled 1,000 mass affluent Chinese consumers, showed that they are more inclined to spend on entertainment such as sporting activities and cinema, as well as domestic vacations. “They are now seeking meaningful experiences to elevate lifestyles, spending more on experiences that result in higher levels of self-fulfillment,” said Jacques Penhirin, Partner at Oliver Wyman and co-author of the report. “Millennials are jetting off to more exotic destinations. Places like Sweden and Iceland are trending right now and are on track to take over from the generic Asian tourist attractions like Thailand.” The poll also revealed that China’s mass affluent consumers are expressing widespread and profound discontent over the cost of living. “Chinese consumers demand better welfare benefits as they set money aside for future health care treatment and education,” said Penhirin, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Tencent Holdings has become the most valuable Chinese brand, followed by Alibaba Group Holdings and China Mobile. The three companies were listed in the top 20 of the 100 most valuable global brands in 2017 by BrandZ. With the increasing popularity of WeChat, an instant messaging tool developed by Tencent, the share price of Tencent surged about 60% in the past 12 months. Thirteen of the global top 100 brands are based in China, up from only one brand, China Mobile, 12 years ago. In terms of brand value,Chinese brands surged 937% in brand value over 12 years. Their total value now reached USD406 billion and they now comprise 11% of the total. Zhou Qiren, Professor at the National School of Development at Peking University, said: “Quality is the foundation of brands. Now, we need to start a quality revolution in China, so that Chinese brands will gain a footing globally.” As China pivots to a consumption-led economy, the most impressive performance has been posted by brands providing products and services for the urban middle classes, said the report, published by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown. Apple and Google remained the No 1 and No 2 brands on the list, and Amazon entered the top 10, with a 41% growth in brand value, reaching USD139 billion. The value of the top 100 brands increased 8% year-on-year, reaching a combined USD3.64 trillion.

A rising number of Chinese prefer meals delivery from restaurants or dining out, instead of preparing food at home, according to KantarWorldpanel and Bain & Co’s 2017 China shopping report, “China’s Two Speed Growth: In And Out Of The Home”. While food purchases for in-home meal preparation grew by 3% annually from 2013 to 2016, food deliveries rose by 44% and dining out grew by 10% over the same period. Other findings include that e-commerce continued to skyrocket in China, growing by more than 52.6% in value. Online now represents 7% of fast moving consumer goods sales, having doubled its share of the market in the last two years. Hypermarkets declined by 2% and supermarkets or mini-markets dropped by 2%, compared to convenience stores which increased by 7.4%. The health and hygiene related category achieved high and growing penetration, along with personal care, which shows that more Chinese shoppers are willing to pay for higher-quality goods. Local brands beat foreign brands in terms of growth as local brands grew by 8.4% and foreign brands by only 1.5%, the China Daily reports.