Foreign brands are riding the Year of the Horse to boost sales in the Chinese market by rolling out horse-themed products such as gold jewelry, clothing, and stationary to tap into the lucrative Spring Festival shopping spree.
Gold jewelry is a classic Spring Festival gift. When paired with the horse, a symbol of strength and freedom in Chinese zodiac culture, it becomes a meaningful token of hope for a prosperous year ahead.
Hong Kong jewelry brand Chow Sang Sang, for example, has launched a range of horse-themed designs from necklaces to bracelets. It also teamed up with Shanghai-based choir Rainbow Chamber Singers for a chorus performance to celebrate the Spring Festival and build buzz.
"The horse represents two powerful words: first, vitality, I can feel it galloping. Second, strength, which makes me think of health and signals that our lives will get better and better," said Jin Chengzhi, founder of the Rainbow Chamber Singers.
The Spanish clothing brand Zara has also featured horse motifs in its New Year designs. The fashion brand said zodiac collections have been popular items in recent years.
"This marks the 10th consecutive zodiac-themed sweater collection since 2017 while basically shows our continuous effort to celebrate the Chinese traditional culture through this festival fashion," said Amy Yu, head of communications at Inditex Greater China, Zara's parent company.
The German stationery brand Leuchtturm conducted a live stream on China's social platform Red Note to boost sales of its horse-themed products.
"Previously we have done many different versions such as the Year of the Rat, the Year of the Rabbit. We want to make sure that our German brand also integrates with the Chinese culture and Chinese history," said Zenon Pagliero, marketing manager of Leuchtturm Asia Pacific.
Global brands count on Spring Festival to launch horse zodiac products
