As the Chinese and Asian market for uber-luxury slows, analysts are
pointing to another lucrative market in these regions: masstige. American
contemporary brands are big in the U.S. but underexposed in China
compared with brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, and are poised
for expansion, their popularity also driven by visas that allow Chinese
citizens to shop in the U.S. Coach is recruiting Chinese-speaking staff for
its American stores, to capitalize on this. Both Coach and Michael Kors are
using Chinese social networking apps such as WeChat and expanding in
China; Coach has reported an increase of 10% in comparable sales in China
in some instances, while Kate Spade saw comparable sales from its China
joint venture rise 28% in 2014.