It is a good time to be young in China. Nurtured in the security of a fast-growing economy, young people have become the darlings of the world's biggest names in consumer products.

German carmakers, Japanese consumer-electronics producers, Paris fashion houses, US hygiene-product manufacturers, Hong Kong jewellery merchants and Swiss watch makers are making great efforts to woo this group of free spenders, most of whom are aged between 20 and 40 years. And it is not just foreign vendors that have won over the hearts of the young consumers - their local partners and agents are reaping the benefits, too.

Sanfo Outdoor Sport, a specialty shop that stocks mainly imported goods, has expanded from a single store in 1989 to four mega-outlets in Beijing and Tianjin, plus numerous franchise stores in other major cities around the country.

"Nearly all our customers are young professionals," says Wang Jun, manager of a Sanfo store in Beijing. "Outdoor sport is trendy now and many customers buy our clothing and accessories because they are fashionable," he says. "It's really a lifestyle thing."

Yes, some young Chinese professionals are discovering the fun of backpacking in which they find relief from the rigid corporate environment of many mainland enterprises. Many others see this as an expression of a care-free lifestyle to which they aspire.

Chen Chao, a 25-year-old accountant, is happy to live what he describes as a "double" life. "I am a button-up office worker always toeing the corporate line," he says. But "when I am on vacation, I want to do something even some of closest friends think is crazy".

On those occasions, Chen simply leaves his suits at home and ventures to see the world as a travel writer for several local magazines, carrying his essentials in his backpack. "I am a different person the minute I step out of my home," he says.

But if you are visualizing grubby-looking tourists trying to do things on the cheap, banish the thought. What Chen considers essential includes some of the most expensive equipment favored by seasoned travelers. A regular customer of Sanfo, he is meticulous about brands that are widely accepted as hallmarks of quality and durability in such products as garments, shoes, backpacks, camping equipment, blankets, flashlights and other outdoor sporting goods. His favorite brands include ARCTeryx, Casio, Coleman, Craft and Airwaves.

"Compared with China-made products, imported goods are usually better designed and more durable," Chen says at Sanfo, after spending more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) to outfit himself for the next trip. While waiting for the sales clerk to process his credit-card purchase, Chen says: "This is nothing compared to what some of my friends have spent on their gear."

Across town, Feng Youzhe, a 24-year-old executive at an international consulting firm, is window-shopping in a posh shopping center in Beijing World Trade Center, home to the boutiques of some of the most famous fashion brands from France and Italy.

Wearing designer jewellery from Hong Kong and an over-sized wristwatch from Switzerland, Feng tries on a few dresses from several boutiques without making a purchase. She likes the dresses all right. But "I am broke this month," she says.

A buying spree at another up-market shopping mall the week before has strained her credit card's limits, and payday is still a few weeks away. Caressing the fine cotton dress of the latest design, Feng sighs: "I wonder where all my money has gone."

Working for a multinational company, she earns an above-average 6,000 yuan a month. A large portion of that is disposable income because, like many young people in China, Feng lives with her parents, who are more than willing to keep their only child at home before she gets married.

Instead of contributing to the family expenses, Feng often asks her parents for money to buy clothing and jewellery. "I have no savings," she says. "When I see something I really like, I must have it."

There is nothing odd about her addiction to shopping, according to a survey by Horizon, a market research company that publishes its findings on its website. The company surveyed 939 young women between the ages of 18 to 35 years in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

Results show that 93.5 percent of the respondents conceded that they were susceptible to compulsive buying and were easily influenced by sales promotion, peer pressure, advertisements and their mood of the time. Some 80 percent said they had a strong preference for branded products, especially those seen to be favored by show-business celebrities.

Take Nike for example. Heavily promoted in advertising campaigns featuring international sports stars and local celebrities, the US-based sport-shoes maker has succeeded in establishing what many Chinese consumers consider the "coolest" brand, according to a study by Hill & Knowlton, a public relations and marketing firm.

The performance of Nike shows that its marketing strategy has touched a chord in the hearts of many young Chinese. The company has become so confident about its sales prospects that it is opening retail outlets around China at a rate of 1.5 stores a day.

But, of course, not all young Chinese consumers are as fashion conscious as Feng and her friends. There is a big group of eager buyers of the latest in consumer electronics products, particularly mobile phones and MP3 players, digital cameras, laptop computers and handheld game players, which have become status symbols of the young trendy set.

A recent study conducted by Beijing Youth Daily, a mass circulation Chinese-language newspaper, shows that 23 percent of those surveyed said they changed their mobile phones every year to keep up with the latest technology and trends. Their spending ranged from 2,000 yuan to 2,999 yuan. The study sampled 4,555 people aged between 18 and 35 years in 10 major cities on the mainland.

Some 85 percent of the respondents to the study said that their preferred brands are Sony, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Canon and Motorola.

Earning a basic salary of 3,000 yuan a month, 32-year-old Zhao Yanming, is a self-confessed addict of the "latest and coolest" that the design and engineering wizards at Sony or Nokia come up with every so often. For years, Zhao has been feeding his addiction with the commissions he earned as marketing manager of a real-estate agency. And he has been spending a lot on his purchases, thanks to the boom in the property market in Beijing.

Sipping coffee at a trendy cyber cafe, Zhou proudly displays his latest acquisitions, a sleek Sony laptop that costs more than 18,000 yuan, and a multi-function Nokia mobile phone with a price tag of about 5,000 yuan. "These are my business tools," he says.

However, he agrees that the older models, which are gathering dust in the closet, can do the job just as well. After all, they are just 18 months old.

(China Daily May 10, 2005)