2023 began full of optimism, with China’s reopening post-pandemic promising sunlit uplands of retail confidence after years of some of the harshest lockdown restrictions. This year has instead proved challenging with persistent consumer fatigue and shifting priorities changing the ways in which shoppers discover and engage their chosen brands. All companies operating in the China space have felt these changes first-hand.

For all the negative headlines, however, opportunities still abound. The gloominess of 2022 and early 2023 seems to be lifting, with strong final quarter performances across luxury, fashion and beauty. Travel – while not yet close to 2019 levels – is picking back up, with data pointing to a much stronger year ahead. TONG has not been immune to the unique pressures – both domestic and international – that have defined the last 12 months. Yet, we come out the other side in a solid position ready for 2024.

Underpinning our success – as ever – has been our commitment to the highest quality work. This year has been book-ended by two exciting projects in the beauty space. In January, the team flew out to Hong Kong to complete a series of consultancy projects for Estée Lauder’s Origins. This month, we delivered our second campaign for Unilever. In between, we’ve had the pleasure of extending our work with several long-term TONG partners, including Heathrow Airport, iQ Students, Mou, This Works and Cadogan Estates, while also completing our first projects with Uniqlo, Diptyque and Edrington, among others.

Our agency continues to cement its place as a leading global player with a specialism in China, offering an increasingly diverse range of services, with an emphasis on strategy, creative and collaborative activation.

Of course, one of our biggest successes this year has been the full launch of our sister business, YASO (rebranded from Kuai mid-year). We started the year off the back of a successful £2m pre-seed fundraise and have since completed the development of our fully-integrated social commerce product, with an exciting first cohort of brand partners to launch across the first half of 2024. Watch this space.

None of the above would of course have been possible without our team, who have again shown remarkable resilience and resolve under challenging circumstances. Our focus this year has been on upskilling and organisational structuring. Throughout the changes that the last two years have brought, we are proud to have maintained the curiosity, collaboration and empathy that make our company culture so unique and rewarding.

We leave 2023 with our eyes firmly on the horizon, excited for 2024 and beyond. The next year will bring some major milestones: We’ll be scaling our Shanghai office while investing further in our UK team and looking for other international opportunities. We’ll be developing new industry, agency and brand partnerships as we elevate our offering further. And we’ll be taking on ever more exciting client projects as we help global companies interpret and adapt to a changing world in which China is becoming an ever more impactful stakeholder.

Perhaps most exciting (or humbling) of all; TONG turns 10(!) years old in March.

Thank you, as ever, to our network of colleagues, clients and cheerleaders who continue to push us to new heights. We wish you all a merry festive season and a happy New Year! Until we cross paths again, all the best.