Chinese New Year shopping, Japanese youth reject luxe, Aritzia’s US rollout, Record year for LVMH, Chanel culture in China

Retailers Turn Lunar New Year Into a Shopping Spree (WSJ)
"'Without question, we're seeing a shift as years go by to more commercial activation around the major holidays... Retailers understand that it has worked for Christmas and it'll probably work with Chinese New Year as well.'"

Japan's young generation closes 'luxury wallet' (Independent)
"As a result of its economic collapse, Japan's per-head spending has radically declined - a trend that market researchers at Euromonitor think will continue - with the luxury market being particularly affected, having shrunk by 23 percent between 2006 and 2010."

Aritzia's Plans to Roll Out Across USA (Racked)
"The New York store will be the chain's eighth in the United States, after Seattle, Portland, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, and Short Hills. After New York gets set up? Aritzia has plans for a full-scale roll-out across the USA."

LVMH has record year as luxury bounces back (Reuters)
"LVMH, whose Louis Vuitton brand accounts for half of group operating profit, benefited from Chinese shoppers' growing appetite for luxury goods at home and abroad as well as from a steady rise in discretionary spending globally."

How Chanel Sells Itself in China (WSJ Scene Asia)
"For prospective Chinese customers who missed seeing French actress Audrey Tautou in the 2009 film 'Coco Before Chanel,' the foundations of the House of Chanel may be as ambiguous as the brand name is in Mandarin — Xiang Nai Er, which means little more than 'fragrant' in English."