Page 1 xx investigation investigation Throughout The world, the ...

investigation
China’s
cultural
evolution
an inCreasing number of suCCessful
businesswomen are playing their
part in China’s eConomiC boom – whiCh
perhaps explains why the Country
has more female ferrari drivers
than anywhere else in the world
words: federiCo rampini
profiles: Josephine mCdermott
photography: Jasper James
ThroughouT The world, the word ‘Ferrarista’ (Ferrari-lover) is applied almost
exclusively to members of the male sex. But there’s a surprising exception to this rule:
China. This is the only country where almost 25 per cent of Ferrari customers are
women. And not ‘that kind’ of woman, the type that malicious minds unerringly think
of when they discover this curious anomaly. For these are not the young lovers of
elderly millionaires who prefer not to have luxury goods registered in their own names
so they can avoid the taxman’s scrutiny. These Ferrari-lovers are in fact successful
entrepreneurs and professionals in their own right; there’s no question of them being
mere dummies. on the contrary, according to the hurun report – China’s equivalent
of The Sunday Times Rich List – the country’s two richest figures are women; one
a property developer, the other a paper magnate. Some are single or separated. The
majority have a post-graduate qualification, most often an MBA (Masters of Business
Administration) from an American university. Their average personal wealth is around
€200 million. And they’re an interesting sample for understanding the role of women
in the rise of China as a global economic superpower.
Mao Zedong said of women that they ‘hold up the other half of the sky’. In many areas
the Chairman’s policies were controversial, often with evil and tragic consequences.
But at least with regard to women’s liberation, the leader of the People’s republic has
left his country a positive legacy. While in the poorest and most backward areas of
China women remain in a subordinate position, in urban society (almost half a billion
people) women made enormous steps forward under Mao, when communism began
by banning ‘foot binding’ and decreed that everybody should work. And since then,
the long march of Chinese women has not stopped; today there are more women
entrepreneurs commanding the capitalist heights in China than there are in Japan.
In Mao’s day there was a heavy price to pay for egalitarianism, even in terms of
female identity: unisex clothes, greyness, Puritanism taken to its extreme via the
radical and obsessive rejection of any form of personal adornment. Perhaps it was not
by chance that the only woman to emerge as a leader at that time was Mao’s diabolical
fourth wife, Jiang Qing. A member of the notorious gang of Four, she stirred up the
violence of the Cultural revolution, was tried and then condemned to death in 1980.
She was a sinister figure, an intriguer and a manipulator, but in the end she was a
loser in an overwhelmingly male world of power. even today it is still men who run
things in the Communist Party. President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao
are surrounded by a male politburo. In politics, Chinese women must be content with
walk-on roles. But the world of business is more flexible and open to innovation, and
has shown itself less resistant to the ascent of ‘the other half of the sky’.
Thirty years on from the beginning of the country’s ‘experiment’ with the market
economy, equality in capitalist China is, inevitably, measured in money. According
to the US investment bank Merrill Lynch, of the 350,000 or so Chinese millionaires
(with more than one million uS dollars in assets), one third are women, while a
recent Mastercard study claimed that by 2015 the total purchasing power of Chinese
women would rise to $260 billion (€175bn).
These upwardly mobile businesswomen feel smarter than their male counterparts,
and they are more adventurous: they travel the world, party and go to spas; even
plastic surgery is on the rise. They enjoy the freedom their parents never did; to them,
xx
anything is possible. They look to europe and America for their inspiration, favouring
uS television shows such as Ugly Betty and Gossip Girl; they even have Super
Girl, the Chinese take on British talent show Pop Idol. These female high-fliers are
interested in the latest fashions, the hottest gadgets and the biggest designers. When it
comes to the consumer society, at least, it is women who lay down the law.
Fashion and luxury goods are at the heart of a relatively recent, and very female,
boom. Five years ago the Chinese market accounted for one per cent of global sales.
Today, the People’s republic has leaped to third place in the world as a market for
luxury goods, with 12 per cent of global sales. Within a decade, according to goldman
Sachs, China will have overtaken the United States and Japan to conquer first place.
These Ferraristi are found within the 27-50 age range, and can be divided into
three main categories: entrepreneurs, often self-made women who have founded new
businesses; senior managers of Chinese or multinational companies; and, finally,
stars, top models and celebrities from the world of cinema and television.
Ying Yeh falls into the second category of Ferrarista. Born in Beijing in 1948,
a graduate of a Taiwan university, and with international experience that has even
included work in the American diplomatic corps, today she is Vice-President of
Kodak. echo ren, meanwhile, is typical of the entrepreneurial group (see our full
interview with Ren on page 104). A 33-year-old mother of two boys, her early career
centred on advertising; she later moved into the design and interior decoration of large
public spaces: luxury offices, restaurants and nightclubs. Like many women from
Shanghai – who have always been thought of as the strongest, most independent and
most businesslike of women – ren has a very low opinion of the macho society of
Beijing. This opinion was confirmed when she was involved in a project in the Chinese
capital and male colleagues rudely shunned her; she has refused to work there since.
Ren owns a Ferrari 360, which she insisted should be yellow, because it garners
greater attention. Another stereotype destroyed: contrary to what one might expect from
a Confucian society – one, moreover, that has passed through a period of communism
– the culture of the new middle class does not recoil from the ostentation of luxury.
Nobody is ashamed to be rich, and neither does anybody feel afraid of arousing social
envy or dangerous scrutiny from those in power.
The other characteristic of the new middle class, one that is potentially disturbing
given the history of the People’s republic from 1949 to the present day, is the lack of
‘regret’ about the weakest part of society. The average annual income in Shanghai is less
than €3,000 but Ren, who maintains she has worked hard to build her company, has no
qualms about displaying her own wealth before the city’s citizens. ‘I work hard, I’ve
created my own company; I don’t see why I should feel ashamed,’ she says simply.
The speed with which Chinese society has transformed itself from a state of the most
extreme egalitarianism to one of Social Darwinism is impressive. Wealth is justified
as recognition of the best, the natural consequence of the selection of the species. But
Confucianism resurfaces when the Ferraristi enrol in the driving school at Maranello.
The instructors describe them as their most respectful, disciplined students, careful
to follow instructions to the last detail. It doesn’t surprise me. Having taught at the
University of Shanghai, I remember this kind of behaviour: it is the Confucian devotion
for the master, the reverent fear inspired by whoever has knowledge. In this respect, the
new rich – or, at least, the new rich women – pay homage to their ancestral tradition.
investigation
Fast lane: Ambitious
Chinese businesswomen
proudly display their
newfound wealth
vital stats
• Population of China: 1.3 billion
• GDP: $3.4 trillion; growth: 10.8%
• In 2007 the export market was worth
$1.2 trillion; imports stood at $904bn
• In 2007 Chinese consumers spent $8 billion on luxury goods
• China’s luxury market maintains a growth rate of 20-30% annually
• Chinese women’s favourite luxury brand is Louis Vuitton
• 15 Chinese brands were among the world’s top 500 brands in 2008
• 460 of the uS Fortune 500 companies have operations in China
• Electronics account for more than 10% of Chinese exports,
followed by clothes and textiles, at 9.5%
• The uS, hong Kong and Japan are China’s top export markets
• China is the third largest importer of uS goods
• Property developer Yang huiyan is the richest woman in Asia,
with a personal fortune of $17.5 billion
• Ferrari’s presence in China is increasing: it has 10 dealers there, plus
three Ferrari Stores. Last year, 180 Ferraris were sold in the country
• The Ferrari 599 was voted Best Super Luxury Performance Car
in the hurun report’s 2008 ‘Best of the Best’ survey
>>

owners
Bright lights, big
city: Echo Ren with
her Ferrari 360 on
Shanghai’s Bund
xx
Echo Ren, 33
Job: Interior designer
Drives: Ferrari 360
owners
‘I come from a rich family, much better off than
others,’ confides Echo Ren. ‘When I was growing up
my mother had a restaurant and my father ran a laundry
factory. I’ve never experienced not having wealth.’
Ren’s father, now 60, still runs his business servicing
Shanghai’s top hotels, including the Sheraton and
Shangri-La. ‘It was more outstanding in my father’s
day to have wealth than it is today,’ she reflects.
Ren, a mother of two, first got into business in
her early twenties, designing advertising campaigns
for many of China’s top 500 companies, including
Nokia. She later set up her own advertising firm,
acMedia. Her artistic abilities – she majored in design
at Shanghai Artists’ Academy – then led her to focus
on interior design.
As well as designing restaurant, bar and office
interiors in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, she
was also charged with sourcing the artwork when
themed restaurant chain Rainforest Café launched in
China five years ago. It was in the planning stages of
the second café, in Beijing, that she experienced the
sexism she says some businesswomen in China have
to face. ‘We had completed the café in Shanghai and
they were very happy with it, so I was asked to do the
one in Beijing,’ Ren explains. ‘I went to a meeting
in Beijing and I was the only woman; there were 20
men. One of them said to me, “You need to leave; we
don’t want a woman here.” I left the room but inside
I wanted to kill him. I haven’t done any business in
Beijing since,’ she says, adding, ‘In north China it’s
still difficult for women but it’s improving.’
Is it any easier being a businesswoman in Shanghai?
‘In Shanghai it’s very easy,’ Ren confirms. ‘Everyone
works hard. Shanghai and Hong Kong women have
a good reputation for business.’ She recently bought
a wine bar which she is redesigning. ‘I don’t think of
myself as particularly successful because these days
a lot of very young girls are more successful than
me. But I enjoy my life. I never set out to make a lot
of money but I always manage to come across good
opportunities.’
Ren sees her four cars – which sit on the driveway
of the seven-bedroom Shanghai home she shares with
her husband, who works in investment – as symbols of
having worked hard. Her personalised yellow Ferrari
360 is her pride and joy. Four years ago, seeing a
woman driving a Ferrari in the city was a rare sight
– even rarer that it was yellow. Ren admits she chose
the colour because she wanted to stand out. ‘The car
made me feel proud: people would stop to talk to me
about [it],’ she recalls. ‘It was such a rare sight.’ It has
even caught the eye of policemen who stop her to take
pictures of the car. ‘I’m worried at first but then realise
they just want to look at the car. In fact, if I ever make
mistakes in it, I’ve found the police are more likely to
let me off.’
Driving the Ferrari makes Ren ‘feel proud, as if I am
a very worldly person. It’s not like a piece of jewellery
which can make you look cheap. It shows status.’ This
year, she has clocked up 10,000km, and although she
assures me she doesn’t drive it very fast, she admits
her speed creeps up if she’s in a good mood.
Ren’s other passion is collecting art. ‘If I find art
I like, I buy it,’ she says simply. ‘Two months ago I
went to Hong Kong to buy artwork from the Qing
dynasty.’ A piece that no doubt takes similar pride of
place as her Prancing Horse.
>>

owners
Yang Haibo, 37
Job: Marketing director
of an investment firm
Drives: Ferrari F430
DANCER YANg Haibo likens driving her beloved
Ferrari F430 to the buzz she feels when she performs
on stage. The 37-year-old handles the marketing for
an investment company that she and her husband
have run for 10 years. She divides her time between
Beijing and Shanghai. Half the month she lives with
her husband in their spacious, six-bedroom house in
the Chinese capital; the other half, she stays in a 16thfloor
apartment in Shanghai. For Haibo, the monthly
business trip to Shanghai is all the better because she
gets to drive the F430 that she took delivery of just
three months ago. ‘I love coming back to Shanghai
when I get to see the car,’ she confesses. ‘I’m excited
every time I take it out.’
Haibo’s Ferrari is very much her own indulgence.
Her husband, who she says is ‘always concentrating
on work’, has not yet even seen the car – he is based
in Beijing. ‘He has his own driver and doesn’t like
driving as much as me anyway,’ she notes.
Haibo jumped straight in at the deep end with
her F430, driving it at the Shanghai Ferrari Festival
in April, following a pace car, just days after she
bought it. ‘I did my top speed that day,’ she recalls,
‘250km/h, going around the race circuit. It was so
exciting.’ She already has her sights set on a Ferrari
599 gTB Fiorano, though she loves her F430. ‘I think
this model is just right for me because it’s not too big.
It’s just right for a lady and I love the colour.’
Haibo likens her passion for her Ferrari to her love
of dance. At a young age she danced professionally,
and now she practises ballet twice a week and
ballroom dancing up to three times a week. She has
a professional dance partner with whom she has
performed for 10 years. Her achievements include
performing with the acclaimed China National Song
and Dance Ensemble. ‘Ballroom is a great passion
of mine,’ she enthuses. ‘The samba is my favourite
dance. Being on stage dancing is a bit like driving my
Ferrari. It’s a similar buzz.’
The dancer also has a penchant for shopping; each
month she travels to Hong Kong to hit the malls, and
says that her tiny size six frame means only designer
clothes fit her properly. ‘I’m so skinny I had to find a
designer who makes the right size for me. Most of my
clothes are Cavalli.’
Despite her privileged lifestyle, Haibo is by no
means only money-driven. ‘For the future, I want more
happiness,’ she confides, ‘not only from my business
but in my life and for my family and friends.’
xx
owners
High flier: marketing
director and dancer
Yang Haibo in Mansion
Hotel, Shanghai
>>

owners
Cai Driving Yang force: at the Cai wheel
of Yang her behind Ferrari the F430: wheel
a of potent her pride symbol and joy,
of the a F430 radically Spider
changing China
xx
Cai Yang, 27
Job: Shareholder in
paper manufacturer
Drives: Ferrari F430 Spider
owners
CAI YANg is not an average 27-year-old by any
standard. She got her first car, a Lexus, at just 21; four
years later she picked up the keys to a Mercedes. Now
she can be seen turning heads in her Ferrari F430 Spider.
A canny entrepreneur, her success is down to the fact
that she started to dabble in business at the tender age
of 17, right before China entered its greatest period of
economic growth. ‘Our success is definitely because of
China’s boom,’ she declares.
Yang, together with a small group of school friends,
started what has become a money-spinning enterprise –
exporting papyrus. Her husband, whom she married at 23
and who is 11 years her senior, was also involved in the
small business at the time. When she finished her studies
at the age of 20, she and her husband built the company
up and made their fortune importing, manufacturing and
exporting paper products. The company is now 10 years
old and imports mainly from South Korea and Japan.
‘Between 2000 and 2001 the business really took off,’
Yang reflects. ‘In 2004 we experienced another boost.
I never expected it at all. I was just learning as I went
along and upgrading the business.’
Today, she and her husband are shareholders of the
firm Shanghai Packaging, and the majority of their
business involves the manufacture of the silver paper that
goes inside cigarette boxes. They supply one of China’s
biggest cigarette companies, Ningbo Cigarette Factory,
which makes the popular brand Da Hong Ying (great
Red Eagle). Smoking is a growth industry in China.
Like most young professionals, Yang is out to have
fun spending her money – and it doesn’t get much
better than driving around the streets of Shanghai in the
early hours in a Ferrari F430 Spider. She first got into
Ferraris when Shanghai was added to the Formula One
calendar in 2004 with its brand new circuit. ‘I was a fan
of Ferraris from then, and afterwards got into the road
cars,’ she says. She bought her Spider during Chinese
New Year in February 2007. ‘I went for a Spider because
I love convertible cars. It’s really fast and super-cool.
Everyone looks at you when you drive it.’
Yang is in an enviable position. ‘As I’m the boss I
don’t have to show up early at the office so I get up
late and then go in,’ she reveals. ‘In the evening I have
dinner with friends and family. If we are in the mood, we
go out.’ She can often be found with friends in the VIP
lounge of the ultra-modern Shanghai nightclub, Muse.
Like many aspiring Shanghainese, the fun-loving
businesswoman also has a fondness for designer brands.
‘My favourite label is Dolce & gabbana. I also like Dior,’
she confesses. ‘I love big handbags. I have about 10 or
20 different designs at home – gucci, Chanel, Cavalli
and Dolce & gabbana. Every two or three months I go to
Hong Kong on a shopping trip. I usually spend the most
on accessories and watches.’
So what is left to achieve when you have done so
much by the age of 27? ‘I would say I’m an ambitious
person. I’m thinking about going abroad to Canada and
North Korea as those countries have a lot of resources
and many opportunities,’ she muses. ‘I’ll go there and
think about how we can expand the business.’
Yang, however, remains modest about her early
success. Asked if she is proud of her achievements, she
simply says, ‘I’m satisfied.’
>>

owners
The magical
combination of a
beautiful woman, a
beautiful Ferrari,
and an enchanting
Shanghai night
xx
owners