D&G and Apple in hot water...

Pic: CPP Luxury

Dolce & Gabbana's Hong Kong stores have drawn quite a bit of ire of late, culminating in a protest of about 1,000 people forcing the store to close its doors early last week. Employees at the luxury brand's Tsim Sha Tsui flagship had told local Hong Kong residents that they were not allowed to photograph outside the store - though mainland Chinese and foreigners were exempt. CPP Luxury have the details right here.

It's potentially very damaging news for the Italian brand who are very open about their vested interest in mainland China, where they currently operate over 25 stores with potential for that number to be doubled within the next few years. The men at the helm of the brand (that would be Mr. Dolce and Mr. Gabbana...) have become frequent visitors to China, and were just in Shanghai this past November.

The clamor for high-end products in the Chinese market is growing at an extraordinary rate, and it is expected to become the world's largest market for luxury goods by the end of the decade. However, and as Jing Daily discusses here, brands targeting their PR on the mainland is all well and good, but that mustn't come at the expense of previously loyal shoppers elsewhere. What's also important when it comes to HK in particular is that there - as opposed to on the mainland - reported news as well as social media suddenly becomes much more boundary-crossing, internationally-relevant and attention grabbing - an element that proved all the more damaging during the D&G fiasco. Interesting stuff, and well worth a look.

Linked to the D&G controversy, there's been widespread outrage at the lack of availability of Apple's all new iPhone 4s, most notably in Beijing, where angry customers began throwing eggs at the store windows after waiting in line for some twelve hours. TWELVE!! We can only assume that lines at the grocery store were somewhat shorter... It's the first big Apple launch since the untimely death of CEO Steve Jobs, and the timing couldn't be more apt - by weird coincidence, the prototype for the very first version of the iPhone was unveiled exactly five years ago this week. How times have changed...