Wedding Industry News :: Knot Expands to China with Ai Jie

Big global wedding industry news that The Knot has officially launched in China with Ai Jie (Ijie.com)! Check out the comprehensive feature coverage by AdAge.

We were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with InterContinental Hotels Asia-Pacific (IHG) on a 10-month wedding sales & marketing strategy development project in 2008-2009 that took us to Shanghai twice (see link to this post from the breathtaking wedding market photo shoot we did while there!) and also to Tokyo. We learned so much about the global wedding market and in particular the exploding opportunities for the wedding industry in China. Staggering...and exciting!

Here are some key China wedding industry statistics and insights from the press release from The Knot ::

“China is by far the world’s largest wedding market, with approximately 10 million weddings a year, which is five times the number of weddings in the U.S.,” said David Liu, CEO and cofounder of The Knot Inc. “With the first generation of children from the One Child Policy marrying now, a wedding is a highly anticipated occasion for their parents and grandparents. This presents a huge opportunity in the China market, and our mission is to be the number one leader in bringing Chinese couples stylish inspirations, expert advice, and unique tools to help them plan their weddings and lives together.”

Chinese Wedding Industry Statistics

Ijie.com provides U.S.-based businesses an opportunity to align with a premium trusted brand and access to a huge untapped bridal market. As the first generation of children from the One Child Policy enters the average marrying age, young engaged Chinese couples wield unprecedented wedding budgets and are increasingly incorporating Western traditions into their wedding ceremonies.

• Wedding industry: $57 billion (400 billion RMB) (Source: China Wedding Industry Development Report)
• Average number of weddings: 10 million couples marry annually (Source: China Wedding Industry Development Report)
• Average wedding spend: $12,000 (80,000 RMB), excluding the cost of the wedding ring, attire and honeymoon (Source: China Wedding Industry Development Report)
• 80 percent of weddings combine Chinese-Western traditions (Source: National Committee of Chinese Wedding Service Industry)

Congrats to David Liu, Carley and everyone at The Knot on this global expansion - we can't wait to watch it explode with success!