<i>The 20-year-old office clerk at a Beijing cosmetics manufacturer knows it could set him back more than $1,000. He'll have to save for months. But he said it would be money well spent. "As a man, you must have one of those bags," he said. "It will bring you status, dignity and boost your image."</i><p>Petrifying though that may be, that's only months. We saddle ourselves with six years of payments for the status symbols <i>we</i> can't afford.
This is one of the big rifts between foreign born immigrant Asians and their children. (I'm such a child.) A lot of children of immigrants are embarrassed by their parent's obsession with material things and signaling. In actuality, this behavior is quite similar to the signaling through conspicuous consumption of other North Americans. However, culturally different practices stand out, while the local ways of doing things blend into the background.
Reminded me of this article about Chinese women:<p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-13/chinese-women-millionaires-enter-man-s-world-with-400-000-maseratis.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-13/chinese-women-milli...</a><p>Seems in the West men buy sports cars and women buy luxury handbags, and it's the reverse in the East.<p>It probably doesn't come down to any significant cultural differences either. Buying expensive things is a way for some people to feel more confident about themselves, or to spoil themselves, or some area in between. Basically, it's a curious statistic, but ultimately a non-story for actually doing business.
The USA variant of this is the briefcase or (more recently) the messenger/laptop bag. Not quite as expensive, but (arguably) still used as an indicator of social status.
A similar fad was popular in Eastern Europe when I lived there (may still be):<p><a href="http://www.exile.ru/articles/detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=8264&IBLOCK_ID=35" rel="nofollow">http://www.exile.ru/articles/detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=8264&...</a>
It's not a purse! It's a European men's carry-all.<p>Regarding the "7% of men in the U.S.", I wonder how many of that sample bought them as gifts for women? I mean, I've stepped into Coach once to buy a wristlet, but it was because my sister had it on her wish list as a gift.<p>Then again, Coach does make men's accessories. I have a belt from coach, which my sister gave me as a gift. To be entirely honest, it's held up far better than any other belt I've ever owned.
I've never been to China, so I was a little surprised to read that the largest bill denomination is equivalent to just US$15. I wonder why the payment card industry or contact-less payment systems like NFC have not taken off like they have been for decades in other Asian economies like Japan and Korea.
I know many Filipinos both in the USA and in the Philippines - as soon as the husband makes enough $$$, the first conspicuous purchase is Louis Vuitton, or for the more wealthy, Chanel (whose bags are truly beautiful, and I say that as a dude.)
Wait, other countries and cultures don't adhere to the United States finely ingrained, unforgiving gender stereotypes? Let's have a laugh, they have girly-men. Sigh.