Gift giving by China’s wealthiest is down for the second year in a row, according a survey of luxury brands released last week by the Hurun Research Institute.
But not if the gift is an Apple.
Apple has “shot up,” according to Huran, to become “the preferred brand for gifting” by both rich Chinese men and rich Chinese women.
With Feb. 19, Chinese New Year, less than 3 weeks away, Apple is doing all it can to cash in.
- It has ramped up production to finally meet — according to Tim Cook last week — the pent-up demand for iPhones in the jumbo formats so popular in Asia.
- It aired over the weekend its first Chinese language TV ad — a remake of a heartstring-touching Christmas spot that works for me in any language.
- On Saturday, Apple opened its 20th Chinese store, its 15th on the mainland and its second in the city of Chongqing (pop. 30 million), the economic hub of the upper Yangtze basin. See the YouTube video below. Now THAT’S what I call an Apple Store opening!
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/-XQ7vABQD_w]
Angela Ahrendts, take a bow.
Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter at @philiped. Read his Apple AAPL coverage at fortune.com/ped or subscribe via his RSS feed.