Tiffany And Darcy

Concerned about the Consumer? Look at What China Wants

Investors concerned about a potential US “Double Dip” ought to focus where the growth is:  luxury brands with exposure in China.  One of the brightest candidates with great potential is Apple.

Luxury good demand in Asia Pacific generally, and China specifically, is driving revenues and profits of some of the world’s splashiest brands.  Take a look at some selected data points:

Adidas increased 2011 guidance to 10+% growth, previously in the “high single digits” after H12011 sales increased 14%.  Sales to China were up 38% over H12010. Tiffany Q12011 worldwide sales were up 20%, driven largely by the growth in Asia Pacific of 37%. PPR, conglomerate made up of luxury brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, etc. had strong results “boosted by tourism from Asia.” Porsche operating profit up 59% in H12011 due to a boom in emerging markets, “especially China. LVMH experienced double-digit growth in revenue and profit for H12011.  The Louis Vuitton brand drove earnings, “largely in China.” Apple, too, saw its revenues in China (defined as Mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) up 6 times in the first nine months of 2011 compared to the year earlier.  Moreover, the four stores in China have the highest average revenue per store of any other region geography for Apple.

The growth can be expected to continue, if only due to the sheer size of the growing middle class in China.  In 2010, China surpassed the US as the largest car market in the world.  In 2009, the size of the middle class in the US was 338M the size of the middle class in the Asia Pacific was 525M.  By 2020, the US middle class will be roughly the same size while Asia Pacific’s middle class will be the largest with over 3 times the size at 1.740B (54% of global share) with the greatest purchasing power.

Apple’s total addressable market inside China is also highly anticipated to increase.  Today, iPhones comprise over half of Apple’s revenue, making iPhones the largest driver of growth. Today, iPhones are sold officially through China Unicom, China’s second largest carrier with 181.6M subscribers.  That said, Apple and China Mobile, the largest carrier with 611M subscribers, and Apple and China Telecom, with 105.7M subscribers, have been rumored in talks for quite a while.  Many expect announcements from both by the end of the year to officially sell iPhones.  Regardless, 5.6M prepaid or unlocked iPhones are already operating on the China Mobile networks.   This broadens out Apple’s addressable market by over 700M subscribers…for a high-margin product that, in contrast to the other luxury items, is also a useful productivity and connectively tool.

#51 A Review of Darcy's Passions by Regina Jeffers « Reflections of ...

?  Thanks to Austen’s superb storytelling, we are not left wanting regarding how Elizabeth feels towards Mr. Darcy.  However, we never quite know the exact series of events that make Darcy view Lizzy as the sole object of his affections instead of an insignificant person unworthy of his time.  In Darcy’s Passions: Pride and Prejudice Through His Eyes  by Regina Jeffers, we get a glimpse at what Darcy must have truly felt and get to view the emotions swimming through his head whenever he was with Lizzy.  In short, it is the story of a man who has captured the hearts of millions of readers, and spawned countless works dedicated to the enigmatic and dashing Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Darcy and Bingley arrive in Hertfordshire to move Bingley into his new estate, and while there they decide to attend the Meryton assembly, a local ball.  There Darcy meets Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who he states is “not handsome enough to tempt him”, although we all know how he changes his mind.  Jeffers continues telling the story of  Pride and Prejudice , except this time through Darcy’s eyes.  Thanks to Jeffers we now know how Darcy felt throughout his pursuit of Elizabeth, their eventual courtship and marriage.

I’ve read other novels that Jeffers has written and one thing always stands out to me about her writing: her ability to get inside the characters’ heads.  I think it’s safe to say that after Elizabeth says no to Darcy’s first proposal, his mind is filled with doubt.  He has doubts about who he is, feels anger over not getting Elizabeth, and in the end experiences turmoil over how to move on from this situation.  Jeffers writes her Darcy with the perfect blend of all of these emotions and then some, as we play the back-and-forth game over whether Darcy should pursue Elizabeth or not.   It was a retelling of Pride and Prejudice that, in my opinion, got Darcy spot-on.

Another point I really enjoyed about this retelling is that it gives us a glimpse of the Darcy’s married life.  Jeffers writes a few chapters that delve into the first months of their new life together, and she shows us that their marriage isn’t perfect, but quite realistic.  These are two people with very strong character and  personality traits.  Anyone who writes them experiencing a perfect marriage isn’t doing justice to who they are as individuals.  Sure they love each other, but they’re both strong-willed and stubborn people who have a hard time yielding to others.