a cult-like following

It has also kept customers interested by introducing new products (paywall) as often as every few weeks. Recruiting brand ambassadors like British actress Emma Watson has also helped the Louis Vuitton cosmic blossomcompany reach a younger, hipper Chinese clientele. +compared to, for instance, Louis Vuitton, which has depended more on traveling exhibitions to increase brand exposure. Many Chinese shoppers research potential luxury purchases online, following recommendations from people they follow on Chinese social media like Sina Weibo and WeChat. Burberry is on four Chinese social media sites, and has over 600,000 fans on Weibo. In a ranking this year of luxury brands in phone brands, Xiaomi, is about to unveil its flagship Mi-3 phone. This model uses one of the fastest processors on the market, retails at just over $300 and already has legions of fans. + On the surface, Xiaomi seems to have a lot in common with Apple.

Phones are slickly designed, sell out within minutes and have a cult-like following. Lei even wears jeans. Honing its brand hasn’t come at the expense of Chinese growth. Unlike many of its luxury rivals, Burberry has reached more Chinese shoppers by expanding into second-tier cities. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Chanel have stuck with a more cautious approach and focused mainly on first-tier urban centerssaid finance chief Carol Louis Vuitton cruiseFairweather, adding he would be supported by strong creative and operational teams beneath and alongside him.

History has shown that brands directly managed by their artistic director can be successful, for example Giorgio Armani and in the early days of the brand Ralph Lauren. Burberry, which trades globally from around 470 stores, concessions and outlets and employs a staff of nearly 10,000, reported retail revenue up 17 percent to  Louis Vuitton utah694 million pounds in the six months to September 30 - bang in line with analysts' forecasts. Total revenue was 1.03 billion pounds, up 14 percent.