[NEWS] Ayu spends HK$400,000 in 2 hours
 

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v9wgCfjjBM (~2 min video of Ayu at HK's airport)

Original Article: http://hk.news.yahoo.com/061219/12/1yk2s.html
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Brief Summary about the article:

It says that Ayu went to Hong Kong to attend the "Confessions of Pain" opening. She had not been to Hong Kong for almost 5 years. At around 2PM she arrived in Hong Kong. She wore a black dress with a white furry coat (See Picture). She was protected by security an about 50 fans greeted her at the airport and she shook their hands and received flowers. She was smiling and laughing the whole time. However, as she was leaving, chaos erupted as many fans tried to follow her and there was an verbal arguement between a female fan and a member of security. After leaving the airport, she immediately went to "The Landmark" (it's a mall located in Central) where she spent 2 hours there. During that time, she went inside many expensive shops such as "Gucci", "Louis Vuitton", "Dior" and "Fendi". In the 2 hours, she spent a total of ~HK$400,000 (US$51,000). In each store, she spent at least between HK$40,000 - HK$50,000 (US$5,000 - US$ 6,500). She left "The Landmark" at about 5PM with her assistants carrying many large items for her.

"Confessions of Pain" is a movie starring Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro. (She'll be meeting them at the opening). Ayu wrote the lyrics for "Secret" which is the International Theme Song for "Confessions of Pain".

Ayu will be staying at a 6-star hotel in Hong Kong. She'll be staying there for 2 days and 1 night. She is being accompanied by 30 people and the total hotel cost is expected to be ~HK$600,000 (US$77,000).
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Some more info:
Original article: http://hk.news.yahoo.com/061219/60/1yka9.html

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/7...20fp01ynq6.jpg

-avex got 3x 7 seater vans to pick her up from the airport.
-She's staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in Central.
-At the "Landmark" she spent 25 mins at Gucci and then she went to Louis Vuitton.
-Reporters say she didn't stop trying on clothes, shoes, pants, handbags. She was having a good time.
-The reporters even joked saying that by spending HK$400k, she's helping HK's economy!

Wow, I wish I could go shopping with her!!!

I thought she spent alot more money, You tricked me with the title, lol.

Ayu is a shopaholic! I wish I could shop with her too! XD

wowwwwwww...i wanna go shopping with ayu XD
lucky hk fanssssss!!!

The song Hey big Spender came into my mind when I read that.

And I thought I was a big spender

Ayu is such a diva! Btw, she looks really pretty!

Is it really only 50 fans? I was expecting a larger number from HK.

It's week day. XD people have work and school then XD...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4jprY8eVoo

Ah D: if only I was in HK v-v

D: the red checked-dress she worn at the premier was ....so nice X3...

I wanna shop like Ayu, lol! :p

thanks for the YT link, Ayu does look GORGEOUS!!! lol i wonder if Ayu totally stole the show and like stole the spotlight from Shu Qi Leon and Takeshi xD

she's looking really happy at the premiere

ha, are we surprised? she has the money, so i'm not surprised that she spends a large amount at once. afterall, she's got to pay for all the fabulous clothes (and sometimes tacky ones, lol) that she wears.

That's the airport

fft, if I had her money, I'd drop it like a bomb too! :laugh

another video of Ayu @ HK Airport ^^;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR4-AlhGcL0&NR

Ayu is sooooooooooooooooo nice and friendly~~~

^Thanks! This is the most recent one!

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v9wgCfjjBM

This version's like 10secs longer

I might get this tonight XD... if I do, I'll see if I can make a but more H-erQ version. XD

thats pretty cool

OMG she spent that?!?!?!?!?!?! ZOMGGGG

thanks for sharing such an important news with us..

US$51,000 + US$77,000 = US$128,000 !!!!

whoa!!! She is so cool! haha..

Dang~ Imagine if she was there the whole day~ :thud

I thought it was rather...eww looking. xD

Wow, rich girl. :P

that's the celebrity life!

Thats awesome! I hope they will show it on tv here....still waiting...

Aww!! She looks so happy!! I wanna meet Ayu I wouldn't mind meeting Takeshi Kaneshiro too!!

hahaaa ayu is so happy :) fans are desesperated

I want to meet Ayu too. :D

Take me with you if you want to meet her :P

Hey Big Spender.

I would love to spend that much in 2 hours.

Lol, and here I am wondering how I'm gunna pay my $20 min. credit card bill :laugh

Ayu's rolling in teh moniesssss

more pics from the same source: http://hk.news.yahoo.com/061219/12/1yk2s.html

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1.../_20ma010_.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1.../_20ma011_.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1.../_20ma012_.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1.../_20ma013_.jpg
bastard! let ayu get through the door first! :eviltongu

I think the airport put a limit to the number of fans allowed inside considering how much of a commotion Ayu would bring.

How dare he walk in front of Ayu. :D

OMG. Having that much disposable income would be...beyond awesome.

She could have spent some more...

Cool? That's not cool, that's freaking scary. People who spend that much money on clothes, shoes and all that crap they don't really need, especially if they do that in such a short time, they've obviously lost the contact with the real world. Yes, she's a successful entertainer, so it's understandable and very clear what it is like that, but that doesn't mean it's anywhere near fine - or 'cool' for that matter.
You can say I know nothing about the society in Japan, but I dare to think she's probably a good example of how the Japanese percept the world around them and how they feel in it - they're obviously very simple minded materialists. Even she herself admited so many times she never actually had anything like dreams, expectations or plans for future - which is how vast manjority of the Japanese feel like - and where she is right know is basically by accident.
This really makes me feel awkward when thinking about all the nice stuff she writes in her lyrics, all the vocal skills she has and all the good looks - it's all by accident. She's the absolute "happened-to-have-it-all" phenomena of modern Japan.

That's the most fascinating thing.

The worst thing is - she seems to be nothing beyond that.

I think most Japanese artists go around saying they don't give a damn about money or fame. They get off on feeling 'humble' yet in reality they love it.

agree LOL

thank you for the info and pics and link!

dustie, I also agree with you... i wish i could see ayu using clothes (the good ones) more than a time...

GOSH l-o-v-e that dress!!! i commented on YT ;)

Haha.. Thanks to God she isn't my wife! :D (only joke.. shopping quite fun :) at least if I had cash)

HKD 400K in just 2 hours..... man, that's our money! :faint

HK people are so lucky these days *envy*

Oh my lord
so rich !

*sob sob* my pocket money $$$

Bling bling :yes

thanks for the link! Ayu sure is sooo nice!! so nice of her shaking and accepting ppl'z prezzies!!

Thks for the news. Haha she really knows how to reward and enjoy herself by buying so many things. She really looked good at the airport. A diva indeed.

many need to work
it's not holiday.........
If I were off, I would be there

Hehe, if I'd have the resources that Ayumi has, trust me, I could spend a lot more in 2 hours. :P

I think I make that amount in 5 years. Hah.......

wow! ayu sure spent money like water.. how much people was at the airport when ayu went to HK in 2002?

^^ her hard work all paid off >> SHOPPINGS!!!
well, as expected from the highest pay singer in japan.. lol
i wan to shop like dat too!!
omg, i wna to b in HK.. 0_0!!! tq for d news~~

wow. it seems like a lot in just 2 hours but still-if it was Balenciaga, it would've been a lot larger bill.

May I ask what the big deal is?

wow, look at the fans. that must make her happy that she's popular in hong kong as well

there probaly was only 50 fans because no one knew where Ayu was going to show up. They were probally fans of people who worked there that told them she was coming

Well, if you have money to waste, waste it.

LOL so true so true :D :D :D :D

dang! i wish i was there... to help her spend all that money, hahaha.

did anyone from AHS see Ayu in HK?

She did something similar when she went to Taiwan (but I vaguely remember her shopping spree there being somewhere in the 6 figures USD).

Dustie - There is so much truth in your post. It's much like how socialites recklessly drop tens of thousands of dollars when shopping. Although it's definitely respectable if you earn that much money, spending like that makes me wonder if these people know anything about managing it. Their bookkeepers must be paid quite well.

those pictures look like more than 50ppl

Well... in U$S it ain't that much....

well i wanna shop like ayu too ... - ____ -
i'll just go to the store & say "i'll have whatever ayu have" XDDD

thanks for the news
crazy crowd :D

Well 50k is still a lot especially since it was over a 2hr period...

Too much money it's such a waste T.T She should donate some money not spend so much everytime

Even before she was a star though, she said she liked clothes and shoes.. :\
Japan purchases 45% of all boutique-y goods [GUCCI / Louis Vuitton / etc..] so, I imagine that all Japanese people try to buy such luxurious goods when possible.

I mean, you've seen the dresses she's worn in her magazine shoots right? They're like six-seven figures in yen, which imo, is a TON for a simple dress.. but then again, this is Ayu. I think she might buy 3-5 of a certain outfit in like, different colors for lives and public appearances, because in the making of 1LOVE, she's wearing an average sweatsuit-thing.. :o

[and I really don't think she bought too many goods, just.. really expensive ones.]

I really don't think it's a 'waste' necessarily, since Ayu is a shopper, and has been since she was a teen. :p

I hate it when people say that spending loads of money on branded clothes and luxury-stuff is a waste of money.. I mean. It's not.. and even if it is; it's her money to waste. Besides; it's good for the economy AND it's obviously fun to do and cool to have... =) Go Ayu!

Hotels sure are expensive. o_o

Yeah and it isn't a good thing, she spent all her idol's money to buy things she will wear only one time and if she didnt become a singer I know exactly what she would do now because of her waste of money.

It's not a waste? artists that spend too much and go proud of it are just materliastic robots without any pursue of the future. She always say she doesnt want to think about the future and life the present, that's a very bad thing, there are people who are dying because they have really NO money and people like Ayu who have a lot and waste them when they can help A LOT of people.

O_O Wow! That's loads of money! I wish I could shop like that, I'd pay off college easily. XD

And as for those who are arguing/trying to prove their point, I'll just say this (and this is my opinion, folks):

Ayu has been working hard for 8 years, she's earned that money. Let her spend it and have some fun, for Pete's sake! If I were her, I'd go bonkers from the work she has to do everyday.

Umm... not really sure how to reply, becouse you're basically confirming what I said, I didn't say she didn't like clothes/shoes before, and statistics about how much of the revenue of the luxurious brands comes from Japan also confirms my theories about the Japanese society.
I bet most of magazine clothes aren't her clothes, especially when she's like 'changing style' or going for something like that WE MEN session. I think she rarely wears her own stuff for magazine shots and even more rarely buys anything solely for such purpose.

One thing I do have to admit though, is that she indeed appears in simple clothes when she's not doing public performances, like during all the off-shots, for example. It is absolutely possible she rarely goes for such buying sprees becouse she doesn't need all that stuff on daily basis, so when there's an opportunity to get some things, she takes adventage of it (thus so much money in such a short time).
Come on, just becouse you're spending money on something since you've been young doesn't mean you're not wasting them...


It's problematic... the question is, do you need that stuff to live? If you don't, that's when it's called luxury... If you're spending money on things you don't really need, it doesn't have to be a waste - indeed. I don't like that word, since what wasting is to one person, doesn't have to be wasting to someone else... but when luxurious good are the major part of your spendings... are they really that important so that buying still makes much sense?...

And no, it's not really something especially good for economy... I mean... most of that stuff is way overpriced and sold for prices that are way higher then actual production costs - so that the designers can make big bucks. I think most of the money go to the designers' pockets, not really speeding up China's economy.

I wonder if everybody here was granted millions of dollars.

What would they do with it?

Of course donate it all to the poor, needy, and the goodness of mankind.

Money isn't an object to worry about. It comes and goes. You have it or you don't. There's no point holding on to millions. Money is made to be spent.

Plus, we are the ones who support this, don't we?

Well, think of it this way:

You buy one expensive item that will last longer (maybe), at least you save the globe by not buying hundreds of cheap ones that will go in the trash in one month. It's a lot more friendly towards the environment if everyone instead of spending £ 100 on H&M each month would save up for a couple of months and buy 1 smaller, but more expensive item, at Dior or Louis Vuitton. Super cheap stores actually contribute a lot more to unhealthy consumerism than the expensive ones, ESPECIALLY in countries in which people in general can afford to buy more expensive stuff if the save up a little. If they have to save up to buy something that in f.ex japan would be considered cheap, now that's a totally different story. Also, if these expensive things break, it's easy to get repairs, and people would want to get repairs because it's of value to them, instead of letting it go in the trash and go out to buy a new one.

In that way, even though ayu can afford to go nuts in these stores, she contributes to making other people that like her style to buy items from these stores and thus spending less in stores like mentioned above that in a greater way contribute to the heavy toll consumers are taking on earth.

Another matter is that most of these so called luxury brands produce their items in countries that have no problem what-so-ever with release of toxins from factories or ever used child labour.

"SImple" clothes like jeans and a t-shirt doesen't neccessarily mean they are cheap.


Also, consider that the stuff is probably cheaper in HK than in japan. :P She can also get it tax free down there I guess.


No, you're right that it probably isen't particularly good for china's economy, it's mostly goes back to the companies (NOT the designers, who are hired by the companies that mostly are driven by leaders with some sort of business background. Imagine that an artist would ru(i)n a business, it would rarely work out. ).

And also I don't think that this stuff is a lot more overpriced than other goods. I know Louis Vuitton best of these companies, and their items are mostly made in France, a very few in factories in Spain and the US. Included in the cost of an item is a lifelong guarantee of free repairs. Also they use very high quality material and continuously research to improve products. And when the base cost for an item is high the final cost will be even higher because they calculate the final price by using a base cost consisting of shipping, materials, craftmanship, insurance, wages for workers and designers etc added up as f.ex. 30% of the final price. So if base makes 30 £, then the final cost would be £ 100 (£70 in pure profit) and on top of that is the tax in each country . It works the same way for every company, but for cheaper items the base costs are a lot smaller, f.ex. by using lower quality material, not hiring famous designer or using child labour and moving production to countries where they have no rules, or very light ruels on how much the factory is allowed to pollute.

Because the luxury brands are selling less items than the cheaper ones, and especially in the high end of luxury products, they have to rely upon some sales and to "live off" that profit untill they sell a new item, while companies selling cheaper items wil lhave to sell a lot over a certain amount of time to survive and to "build up" a profit. It's like herbivores that feed of plants all the time and snakes that have to take a meal every two or three months (if that made any sense).

^I agree with every word you say. Yes, it is a lot of money, but you know, since we don't really know when she shops and stuff, there could be the possibility of buying a bunch of stuff all at once instead of a little at a time. People working in Louis Vuitton earn a living through people like her. In a marketing economy, you need this kind of stuff to occur or we'll all be stuck with sewing our own clothes.

And although luxury brand like Louis Vuitton are expensive, they last longer, and if you look into long-term effect, they are actually cheaper. I generally tend to buy stuff from DKNY or Guess (can't afford anything higher than that) because those two brands I found have jeans and shirts that last much longer than the jeans at Old Navy. In short term, I may have to spend more money, but in long term, I'm actually saving money because buying three $70 pants per year is much much cheaper than getting 8 or 9 $30 pants.

And when it comes down to it, don't judge other people by what they buy or their taste of clothing unless you know the whole story. She made the money, she decide how she's gonna do with it.

Ayu buys BAPE stuff a lot and.. wow..

BAPE is like, king of expensive t-shirts and stuff T__T
And it IS good for the economy, since the money has to flow somehow..

I think most of us on this forum are a bunch of rich materialistic egocentric kids anyway. We all have internet; what a waste (or luxury.. but since some ppl find luxury a waste...) of money.. let's sell our Ayu-CDs, lets walk in hideous clothes and let's give up our internet to help the poor xD tss.

besides; Ayu's done her share of charity work.. a song is born; the SUPEREXPENSIVE signed jeans-auction.....

Yeah..

If Ayu auctioned anything off, it'd make thousands upon thousands of yen for a charity. She doesn't do it much cause then it'd get too common and etc etc.. :p

Sounds like Paris Hilton level of spoiled rich bratty behavior. Why is everyone saying they wish they could shop with Ayu? I know it's important to appear nice and to wear designer stuff in public, I have some too. But why would anyone spend $51,000 in 2 hours?? I don't find that impressive or cool at all.
I know Ayu works hard for her money, and I know she deserves to have fun, but I just can't help thinking that there are better things to do with $51,000 and 2 hours of a famous celebrity's time than unlimited shopping.

Way more pretty than any artist I have ever known
Ayu is the best

Whatever, I guess- it's Ayu's money. It would just be nice to hear of her donating $50K to needy children or something more often, than we hear about her spending it on accessories and her dogs. Just because she's ayumi hamasaki, and she has to keep up that image, like she repeated over and over in her interview- doesn't mean she has to let it completely get to her head heh.

Maybe Ayu does donate but without telling the public, and not up herself like almost every other celeb who always has to let the entire world know when they've donated money and always make sure theres's news crews around to capture there such generous donations, when they could easily afford to give quadruple that without it making an impact on there lifestyle.

or maybe she just doesn't donate at all I mean if she doesn't it don't mean shes spoiled or wasting money she just doesn't. I mean how many celebs can you count that do. How can buying tons of clothing be wasting money it goes back to the company Ayu probably wears the clothes its not like shes flinging them out the window or burning the money.I know if I was rich I would spend like that charity wouldn't even probably cross my mind. but it don't mean I'm selfish. like people said ....it's Ayu's money she can do what ever she wants with it don't get mad cause she won't donate or you think its a waste. it's just clothes. it snot like shes buying tons of cars.

What a shopaholic. :laugh

There ya Go ^^

People who don't approve of Ayu's behaviour, look at it this way - the amount of money you spend on a pair of Nikes or Converses can feed a Third World person for months. It's all relative. Ayu to us is just what we are to the Third World. We aren't much different.

..Hey I donate! ..and I wear 3 yrs old ratty shoes :bgiggle I agree with you tho, Gakkun.

Agreed. Very good explanation.

Ayu = First world

We= second world? :D

wow 400,000 in two hours?? well looking at the dollar convertion, is not that pricey then. LoL
still spent so much money wow
thanks for the news

She's a one rich singer!