Luxury fashion houses are translating their brand names for Chinese buyers
Chinese tourists account for 23% of UK’s luxury fashion market, so it comes as no surprise that the fashion brands are adapting their brands to appeal to its consumers. In China, companies such as luxury fashion house Dior and high-street chain Forever 21 are adopting new names with Chinese characters.
According to Robynne Tindall at Jing Daily, these brands have three options when choosing a Chinese name: ” The majority opt for a simple transliteration, choosing a series of characters with sounds that closely mimic the pronunciation of the brand’s original name. For example, Dior’s Chinese name is “di ao”. The two characters, while meaningless in combination, respectively mean “to enlighten” and “mysterious,” a smart choice for an aspirational brand. Take, for example, American fast fashion retailer Forever 21, whose Chinese name “yongyuan ershiyi” means just that.”
Other brands, such as Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta, rely on existing strong reputations, as well as the Chinese fashion buyers growing knowledge of big industry brands.
Photo credit: Dior / Jing Daily