Le Luxe Français Sur Le Marché Chinois

For the most ostentatious Chinese consumers like to shop abroad. CLSA estimates that 55% of the luxury goods bought by Chinese people are bought outside mainland China. This is partly because of those high tariffs, which can top 30%. But it is also because counterfeiting is rife. Ask a well-heeled Chinese lady about her new handbag and she is quite likely to point out that she bought it in Paris. This tells you not only that she is rich enough to travel, but also that the bag is genuine.

If you include the baubles Chinese people buy outside China, the nation's share of the global luxury market will triple, to 44%, by 2020, predicts CLSA. The wealth of China's upper-middle class has reached an inflection point, reckons Mr Fischer. They have everything they need. Now they want a load of stuff they don't need, too.

In Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district, queues of bling-hungry mainlanders stretch into the streets outside stores carrying the best-known brands. Sales of jewellery in Hong Kong rose by 29% in the year to December; sales of high-end footwear and clothing shot up by 31%. Companies that cater to show-offs have much to boast about. Richemont, the world's biggest jeweller, registered a 57% increase in Asian sales in the fourth quarter. Hermès, a maker of fancy accessories, saw its sales in Asia climb by 45%. Burberry China was up by 30%; LVMH Asia soared by 30% outside Japan. Luxury sales in December were “spectacular”, says Mr Fischer, and growth is accelerating.

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