The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

The rising influence of rising affluence—updated for the changes in China’s economy:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/winners-losers-in-chinas-upheaval-1440630969

Some of the strongest [multinational] corporate performers are targeting [China’s] newly affluent population that looks increasingly like the American middle class. They are spending for the first time on goodies like overseas travel, imported food and concert tickets. Demand for prime splurging products like Japanese diapers, Mexican avocados and Chilean salmon is surging, and it hasn’t been overturned by the crash in stocks—where average Chinese still have little invested.

Income is climbing for large segments of the population. Between 2005 and 2012, roughly 50 million urban households graduated into the middle class, which now numbers around 147 million households, roughly 49% of China’s urban population, according to the Boston Consulting Group. Those consumers started buying products like Dove shampoo from Unilever PLC and Crest toothpaste from Procter & Gamble Co. rather than local goods.

Now, the fastest shift is in households moving to the equivalent of upper-middle class, with monthly incomes between 12,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan ($1,868 to $3,114) and a taste for spas, organic food and vacations…

And higher-quality healthcare.