Jacqueline Lam sells Western fashions to Chinese shoppers, via her website MiHaiBao. What may come as a surprise to anyone who has seen the crowds of Chinese tourists getting into the Louis Vuitton section at Galeries Lafayette (巴黎老佛爷百货公司) in Paris is that she does not focus entirely on top-end (高端的) brands.
林艳通过她的网站“觅海宝”向中国消费者兜售西方时尚。那些目睹过中国游客成群涌入巴黎老佛爷路易威登专柜景象的人们可能会感到惊讶，因为林艳并没有将全部的注意力放在高端品牌上。
The 28-year-old Chinese-born Danish citizen, who says she developed a keen sense of what Chinese shoppers want to buy abroad after years of being bothered by friends and relatives to bring “everything from toilet seats to cookies” back from Europe, is selling her customers on the idea of discovering new designers.
这位28岁的丹麦华裔说道，多年来，只要从欧洲回国总会受亲戚朋友嘱托带购各种大大小小的手信，从马桶盖到曲奇饼干应有尽有，因此使她形成嗅觉越发敏锐，明白中国消费者最想在国外买些什么，而林艳也正在说服她的顾客们去发掘新的设计师。
MiHaiBao does stock Moschino and Christian Louboutin, but its main focus is relatively undiscovered brands, such as Italian knitwear group Boboutic, whose brightly colored pieces sell for less than ￡1,000. MiHaiBao, a name which translates as “secret, overseas treasure,” promises on its website that customers will “hit on something new.”
觅海宝也会售卖莫斯奇诺和克里斯提•鲁布托的产品，但其关注点还是那些相对小众的品牌，例如意大利针织品牌Boboutic，他们旗下色彩鲜亮的针织衫仅售不到1000英镑。觅海宝，意为“秘密的海外珍宝”，并在其网站上承诺顾客将会“觅到新锐好物”。
Lam has made use of a trend that could really shake up how providers of luxury experiences cater to wealthy Chinese. This market used to be about easily recognizable displays of wealth. Now, however, the richest Chinese consumers do not want to show they have money but that they have good taste and that they are individuals. They are becoming much harder to sell to.
林艳利用了这个趋势，而这可能会撼动奢侈品商家迎合中国富豪的方式。
这个市场曾是一种炫富的方式。然而现在，最富有的一些中国消费者们不再想炫耀他们的财力，而是想显示自己高贵、与众不同的个人品味，他们已不再是那些容易兜售的对象。
Federica Levato, a partner at consultancy Bain & Co. (贝恩顾问公司), has seen the same trend. She says that while much of Chinese shopping in Europe is price-driven, “what we have seen in Europe in perhaps the last 18 months is a rapid growth of the sophistication of the Chinese customer.” These shoppers are looking, she explains, “for the less showy and more sophisticated items, with an intrinsic (内在的) value, not only a nice logo.” They want “a unique and personal buying experience.”
贝恩顾问公司的合伙人费德莉卡•莱瓦托，也发现了这一趋势。她认为尽管有许多中国人在欧洲购物是受价格驱动，但她说道“过去18个月内，我们看到在欧洲的中国消费者正迅速地变得更为世故。”她解释道，这些消费者正在寻找“不那么炫目的，但更为精致的商品。这些商品往往具有其内在价值，而非空有品牌标志。”他们想要的是“一份独特且个性的购物体验”。
“A crucial issue for many of the large established luxury brands is how to stay relevant (与时俱进) in today’s consumer environment,” said Bain & Co.’s most recent report on Chinese luxury spending. “In China, luxury brands may have to move downmarket (面向低层次市场), to attract consumers who are still fascinated with brands.”
贝恩顾问公司在最近有关中国奢侈品消费的报告中提到，“对于许多享誉盛名的奢侈品牌而言，摆在面前的一个至关重要的问题是如何与时俱进。”在中国，奢侈品牌可能不得不面向低层次市场，去吸引那些仍然是名牌控的消费者们。