Stores launch Lunar New Year sales during typically slow shopping season
When Madelyn Chung was rising up, only a handful of shops had Lunar New Year shows.
It felt like a particular homage to her Chinese tradition.
Now she seems to be on the proliferation of Lunar New Year retail gross sales and advertising campaigns throughout Canada with a extra essential eye.
“I equate it to rainbow washing or green washing,” she mentioned, referring to companies that use pleasure colors to enchantment to LBGTQ consumers or ecological claims to look environmentally pleasant with out taking significant motion.
“Some stores just want to capitalize on the Lunar New Year celebrations because they know there are a lot of Chinese people who have money to spend on luxury items,” she mentioned in an interview from Toronto.
The Lunar New Year is a well-liked competition in lots of Asian cultures involving giant celebrations, shared meals and reward giving.
Ahead of this yr’s celebration on Jan. 22, retail shops are more and more seizing on the vacation spirit.
Many have arrange particular in-store shows, significantly department shops in elements of the nation with bigger Asian-Canadian populations.
In Toronto, for instance, Holt Renfrew is providing a day tea for Lunar New Year, whereas Hudson’s Bay has a window show and curated in-store merchandise for the vacation.
HBC spokeswoman Tiffany Bourre mentioned that whereas the shop is happy to have a good time events, “inclusivity and representation is a focus year-round from the brands we invest in and products we sell to the people that make up our organization.”
Canadian retailers like Canada Goose and Herschel have additionally launched Lunar New Year net pages with reward concepts to assist drive on-line gross sales.
“I’ve definitely noticed an uptick in brands marketing their products or putting a spin on their collection for Lunar New Year,” mentioned Joyce Lim, co-founder of Sprout assortment, a clothes rental service.
It comes on the finish of a string of purchasing occasions — Black Friday, Christmas and Boxing Day — at a time when gross sales often hit a low level as payments pile up and client fatigue peaks.
“It’s a quiet time in retail,” retail analyst Bruce Winder mentioned. “A lot of stores lose money in the first few months of the year. They need cash to keep coming in and the Lunar New Year is an opportunity to create a mini sales event.”
Yet the adoption of Lunar New Year-themed gross sales in department shops and malls comes as many Chinatown neighbourhoods in Canada are below risk of redevelopment.
Many small mother and pop outlets owned by Asian immigrants additionally folded below the burden of shutdowns through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Asian people are not one homogenous group … there will be different opinions,” Chung mentioned. “I think there will be mixed feelings about the commercialization of Lunar New Year.”
Some corporations have developed complete product traces with Lunar New Year themes.
Upscale manufacturers like Dior and Montblanc provide every little thing from purses and fountain pens to clothes and cosmetics for the vacation. Items usually characteristic vibrant shades of purple and gold and the zodiac animal of the yr.
“A significant portion of designer brands’ revenue comes from an Asian clientele,” Lim mentioned. “I’m not surprised that they’re trying to cater to this specific subset of shoppers in what is perhaps the most auspicious time of year.”
Yet Lunar New Year gross sales and merchandise are additionally increasing past the luxurious retail area.
Mainstream shops in Canada are providing Lunar New Year items with extra accessible value factors, reflecting the various monetary technique of Canadians that remember the vacation.
Even sure low cost shops are promoting decorations and different gadgets for the occasion.
It’s a part of the retail trade’s efforts to mirror the range inside the Canadian panorama and “to provide customers with services, products and special events that speak to their experiences and backgrounds,” Retail Council of Canada nationwide spokeswoman Michelle Wasylyshen mentioned.
In 2021, greater than seven million individuals in Canada reported having Asian origins — practically 20 per cent of the complete inhabitants, in line with Statistics Canada.
Chinese Canadians made up practically 5 per cent of Canada’s whole inhabitants in that very same yr, the federal company mentioned.
Meanwhile, relatively than merely repackaging merchandise for Lunar New Year, some manufacturers are collaborating with Asian artists on distinctive merchandise to mark the event.
“Some companies just slap a bunny on a product and call it a Lunar New Year gift,” Chung mentioned (2023 is the yr of the rabbit within the Chinese and Korean zodiacs, whereas within the Vietnamese zodiac it is the yr of the cat).
“I saw a red Playboy shirt with the bunny on it that just made me cringe,” she mentioned. “But some stores are taking a more thoughtful approach and actually involving Asian artists to create something special.”
Canadian clothes retailer Aritzia, for instance, has launched a limited-edition Lunar New Year assortment this yr that includes illustrations by 4 artists with Chinese roots.
“It’s great when stores actually team up with Asian creators,” Chung mentioned. “It’s about actually supporting these communities as opposed to just capitalizing on a really important time of year for them.”
Still, whereas some shops are taking extra respectful approaches to Lunar New Year gross sales that incorporate Asian designers, Lim urged Canadians to assume twice earlier than speeding out to purchase a brand new wardrobe.
“Given the economy we’re now in and the rising cost of living, we should try not to get sucked into these marketing campaigns,” she mentioned.
“Don’t rush out and buy a Dior watch just because there’s a bunny on it.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Jan. 15, 2023.
