Zippo's commemorative lighters for the 70th anniversary of D-day Photo: Courtesy of Zippo

 

About 10 years ago in Chinese cities, it was very trendy for young girls to buy Zippo lighters as a birthday present for their boyfriends. Prices were a little expensive, but after saving for a little while still affordable, even for a high school student. Stylish and cool, with a brand name that was mysterious but of an obviously well-known brand in the West, it was a luxury item (at least compared to plastic lighters) that could still be used in daily life which a teenage boy could frequently show off even without needing to light a cigarette, just flicking it open and closed was usually enough.  

Ten years later, Zippo is no longer a mystery to the Chinese public. "China has become the largest market for Zippo around the world over the past two years, taking 16 percent of the whole business," said David Warfel, Zippo's global marketing director. He told the Global Times that he now comes to China more than four times a year.

Entering China

Passion about Zippo among Chinese fans started to surge around 2003. Without any form of online business promotion, Zippos were mostly sold in some fashion stores during the brand's early years in China. Places where some retailers would sell both real and fake ones together at a similar price, it was confusing for some new buyers to distinguish between the two or know where to go get their lighters fixed. It was around this time that the Zippo BBS and other similar sites started to become popular. 

Chinese Zippo fans clubs were established online during those years. One of the largest and most influential sites, zfs.cn, has now gathered about 585,000 registered members and maintains traffic of around 7,000 independent IP views daily, according to the site's founder who goes by the handle wuyejiuba (Midnight Bar).

While Zippo and the history of how George Blaisdell first invented this useful lighter is fairly well known in the West, stories like these were a breath of fresh air in China and numerous stories about the brand and its lighters were shared among followers on these sites.

These stories matter. They made Zippo not only a useful lighter but also an ambassador of culture, which helped increase its popularity. There's a common saying among Zippo fans in China, "Zippo is more than a lighter; It's a carrier of culture."

Collectors and players

Nowadays people don't just buy Zippos in imitation of the cool guys they see on TV and in movies, they also buy Zippos as a kind of hobby.

As Zippo became more common in China, consumers began to purchase interestingly designed Zippos in order to show off their personality or as a collector's item. These collectors even established some "rules" on the BBS boards, stating that they basic principle for a buying a Zippo should be their passion for the brand, not to show off. "It's like stamp collecting," shared wuyejiuba.

To support this fandom and bring more people into the fold, Zippo has held and supported many events in China in recent years. Holding competitions among university students to get the fresh ideas from the younger generation, cooperating with Chinese local online game companies to print their icons on special Zippos to attract game players, sponsoring live concerts such as the Midi Music Festival, providing limited editions for Chinese indie rock bands. All these efforts work towards building the image of Zippo as a fashionable and unique icon in the hearts of young Chinese.

Expansion

"In the US, Zippo is a lighter. People don't say they are using a lighter, instead, they just say they use a Zippo. But outside of America, Zippo is more than that, it is a brand, a fashion icon," said Warfel.

To expand this brand concept, Zippo has explored some new business ideas in China. In the hopes that just like how Zippo lighters once became a sign of cool fashion so too will the Zippo name itself, in 2003 the first Zippo concept shop was opened in Hangzhou. A store that in addition to lighters sells various Zippo brand products, such as watches and sunglasses. Warfel explained that Zippo tends to target Chinese consumers who are male, around 18-30 years old, and still have a passion to be cool and like to take risks.

 Starting in 2012, Zippo men's wear stores began opening in second and third-tier cities and now the company has about 14 stores in these cities around the country. Warfel explained that this project is a test-bed to see if they can make it as a fashion brand.