As the Spring Festival approaches, major foreign brands in China are launching a series of innovative marketing campaigns including exclusive limited-edition products and pop-up events to drive up sales.
The Spring Festival, which marks the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year, is the biggest annual holiday in China, when people across the country return to their hometowns for Lunar New Year celebrations and family reunions. This year, it falls on Jan 29, ushering in the Year of the Snake.
Selling Spring Festival limited edition items has become standard practice for most foreign retail brands operating in China. For instance, ZARA has opened a pop-up space at the Bund, while Inditex Greater China's President, Eugenio Bregolat Lukashov, revealed that it's the fourth year they're collaborating with local designers in China during the Chinese New Year.
"It's a very important moment of the year for us and for brands in general here in China. And it's going to be the first time that we're going be doing a multi channel livestreaming. In the previous three collaborations that we did, we were extremely satisfied with the results that some of them get sold out in minutes," Lukashov said.
Many foreign brands have discovered that Spring Festival is also attractive to foreign buyers.
This is the seventh year the Lego Group has been producing the Chinese Traditional Festival series. It's definitely one of the best selling products, according to Xu Zhida, Senior Brand Manager at the LEGO Group.
"Every year, the Chinese traditional festival series got sold out in the first three months of the year. But we are seeing that we started as from China for China series, but now we're seeing a lot of like global attention about this product. So, last year when we launched the auspicious Dragon, actually the U.S. market also went crazy about it. So, we are like seeing that these series can really achieve the goal to, from China for global, to have a bigger impact for the Chinese festival among the globe," said Xu.
And as it is the start of a new year, many foreign brands have already put their plans for 2025 in motion.
"China is a very important strategic market for us. We get a lot of inspiration from the Chinese market as well. And we will also continue to invest in our new stores. Next year in March, we have our Asian flagship opening in Nanjing, including the first ZaCafe in China. Next week, we will be opening a brand new image store for MassimoDutti in Chongqing. And in May, we will be opening new stores in Xi'an and Tianjin," said Lukashov.
Spring Festival sparks retail boom for foreign brands in China
The ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered a humanitarian crisis, leaving millions in Sudan, especially women and children, struggling with food insecurity, displacement, and violence.
The armed conflict that erupted in Sudan in mid-April 2023 has been ongoing for nearly two years, creating a severe humanitarian disaster in the country. A recent report released by the United Nations indicates that by 2025, more than 15 million women in Sudan will require humanitarian assistance.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)'s report -- "Sudan: Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2025 - Overview" -- highlights that Sudanese women and children are disproportionately affected by the conflict, facing more acute challenges such as food shortages, survival crises, and the risk of gender-based violence.
The report reveals that approximately 24.6 million people in Sudan are in a state of "severe food insecurity" or worse, with women and children being particularly vulnerable. They face greater difficulties in accessing food, drinking water, healthcare, and ensuring their personal safety.
"Life is so hard. We don't have clean drinking water, and the water supply in grocery stores has also been cut off. We are short of food and water, and we are in despair. The prices of everything are continuously rising," said Sakina Ahmed, a resident.
Due to the severe damage and shortages in healthcare facilities, the situation for pregnant women and newborns in Sudan is dire. According to data from Sudan's Ministry of Health, 295 out of every 100,000 pregnant women die, and 51 out of every 1,000 newborns die.
Additionally, Sudan's education system has been severely disrupted by the conflict. Over 10,000 schools have been closed as a result of the fighting, and more than 90 percent of the 19 million school-age children are unable to access formal education, with girls being particularly affected by school dropouts, the report said.
"I was an eighth-grade student, but because of the conflict, I've been out of school for one year and four months," said Asrar Essam.
According to a statement by the UN resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, the armed conflict, along with the resulting mass displacement of people and widespread food insecurity, has led to a significant increase in gender-based violence, including sexual assaults.
The UN has called on Sudan to establish non-violent response mechanisms and strengthen accountability systems to safeguard the safety and dignity of all vulnerable groups. Most importantly, the UN has emphasized the urgent need to end the armed conflict and restore peace and stability.
Women, children face dire struggles amid ongoing Sudan armed conflict