In partnership with Luxury Society, the world’s largest community of luxury executives, Europa Star’s partner DLG has unveiled its first ranking of the top 50 most-searched for luxury brands in China.

The top 50 most searched-for luxury brands in China

This ranking is the first instalment of the World Luxury Index, an international ranking and analysis of the most searched-for brands within the luxury industry. Covering over 400 brands within six key segments (fashion, beauty, jewelry, cars, watches, and hospitality) in ten key luxury markets, the World Luxury Index provides insights on the unbiased search inputs coming from global luxury consumers in the world’s top search engines (Google, Bing, Baidu, Yandex). The result is a one-of-a-kind benchmark of the luxury brands capturing the attention of luxury-minded consumers around the world.

As the first official ranking of the most sought-after luxury brands in China, the unbiased information is derived from an impressive sample of more than 150 million consumer queries on the leading search engines in China: Baidu and Google. DLG research analysts, with the support of the Luxury Society team, uncovered a number of interesting findings:

1. Luxury on the road Eighteen out of the top fifty most-searched for luxury brands (36%) in China are automobile brands. Audi is the most-searched, followed by BMW and Mercedes Benz. Audi has long held a privileged spot in China, it’s the official car of the Chinese government.

2. Local brand shines in jewelry Chinese brand Chow Tai Fook is the most searched jewelry brand in China, far surpassing 2nd and 3rd ranked brands, Cartier and Swarovski. With a distribution network of over 1,500 locations across 320 cities in China, Hong Kong, and Macau, it’s no surprise that they lead. Cartier can be found in approximately 300 stores.

3. Impact of language differences Unlike other parts of the world, Western brands in China often find that the public calls the brand something other than the official name. A look at Burberry shows that 76% of searches for the brand are done using the unofficial brand name (巴宝莉).

4. Top fashion brands show different strengths The top 3 most-searched fashion brands in the ranking, Louis Vuitton (#3), Chanel (#5), and Dior (#8) each lead through different segments. Interest for Dior is specifically related to beauty (and more specifically fragrance) over 80% of the time. For Chanel, beauty represents just fewer than 50%, and fashion and accessories at 40%, while it was noted 94% of searches are fashion/accessory-related for Louis Vuitton

5. Surprises abound The top ranking of brands unveiled some interesting results. Borghese, a beauty brand not particularly well-known in the US and Europe is fascinatingly strong in China and ranked #43, thanks to the cult-like following of their face masks. French outerwear brand, Moncler, ranks a surprisingly strong #42, surpassing long-established brands like Rolex and Ferragamo thanks to TV sponsorships.

More detailed data and analysis on a particular segment or brand is available upon request. Please contact [email protected].