Red: The Color for a Lucky Chinese New Year

Next Friday, February 16, begins China’s most important holiday of the year. It also happens to be a major opportunity for retailers to capitalize on the gifting that goes hand-in-hand with the festivities. According to the Chinese zodiac, this is the year of the Earth Dog. Meaning, 2018 will be all about loyalty, serious communication and work responsibility.

That’s great to know for our productivity levels, but in retail, we were wondering whether this equates to more items in the assortment revolving around red, green, and purple - the dog’s lucky colors - and floral prints, since roses and cymbidium orchids are associated with good fortune. (Historically, red is a favorable and common color, so you can expect to see the majority of releases in this hue for this and every CNY holiday.)

At a glance, global luxury retailers are some of the savviest and most responsive when it comes to dropping products for this special holiday. Sixteen percent of Net-a-Porter’s red assortment released this month (those available on its China site) sold out, including silk-based dresses and floral skirts. This could be in small part due to Valentine’s Day approaching, but it’s likely moreso due to consumers wanting to ensure their New Year luck and prosperity, (I currently have on all red with hopes of winning the lottery).

Despite the seasonal popularity in China, the color red still accounts for a pretty small percentage of apparel SKUs - only 5%. Green represents less than 3%, and purple, 1%.

Nonetheless, if you want to put a unique spin on your Chinese New Year participation, floral prints are in abundance, as they make an appearance in 7% of all women’s apparel selections.

We have to say that as long as you have the right outfit, your year has to be off to a good start.

To all our friends around the world - 恭喜发财!