Luxury lifestyle network expands into Chengdu, China

CHENGDU, China – GHC Asia, a leading regional public relations network specializing in the luxury lifestyle sector, has opened in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China – its fourth office in Greater China and sixth across Asia.

The strategic opening by GHC Asia in Chengdu, famed for being home to the pandas, its spicy food and ancient culture, comes on the back of huge growth in both inbound and outbound tourism, disposable income and real estate development in both Chengdu and the surrounding cities of West China.

Chengdu is China’s number three luxury market behind Shanghai and Beijing and the biggest luxury car market in the whole country. Chengdu’s 14 million residents are also seeing a huge influx of international flights from the likes of American Airlines, British Airways and KLM now in daily operation as well as being the third biggest city for hotel development in Asia right now behind Jakarta and Shanghai.

“We are seeing exciting developments in Chengdu from both the development happening there in tourism and retail, to the huge annual increase of international tourists growing by 65 percent year-on-year,” says GHC Asia’s China Managing Director Gary Yu. “Our Chengdu office offers the opportunity for our regional clients to gain greater access vast growing numbers of high-net worth individuals in the west of China, as well as help build local business’ footprint in Chengdu and nationally.”

GHC Asia’s team in Chengdu will be led by Associate Director Phil Boyle and Account Manager Leta Cheng. The team will work on national accounts including Ritz-Carlton and LUX Resorts who have properties in the region as well as developing the presence of overseas clients including McArthurGlen and Walpole British Luxury.

GHC Asia was founded in Hong Kong in 1997 by Lynn Grebstad and Paul Hicks, who have broad experience and solid networks in businesses and media targeting wealthy, high-end consumers.

With hotels, resorts, luxury brands, high-end restaurants and the national tourism organizations of various countries as its main clients, GHC Asia is a unique PR agency that specializes in communications around products and services aimed at higher-income consumers. Since its foundation in Hong Kong, GHC Asia has opened offices in Shanghai and Singapore in 2006, Beijing in 2009 and Bangkok in 2010 prior to Chengdu in 2015, growing in tandem with the expansion of Asia’s wealthy class. The opening of the Chengdu office is the first expansion since the 60% acquisition of GHC Asia by the Hakuhodo Group, one of the world’s top ten advertising and marketing groups.