Sales of luxury goods slowed in China during 2014, with the growth rates falling for the first time amid slowing economic growth and brand proliferation, a new study said on Tuesday.
Mainland China’s luxury goods market has slowed. Chinese shoppers now do two-thirds of their luxury shopping abroad, triggering slowdowns in store traffic and store openings domestically. Another factor have generated this cooling of China’s previously exuberant luxury market domestically. The highly visible government campaign encouraging frugality and focusing on corruption had a large impact on gifting, which had been one of the major growth engines of the sector.
Most of the well-established brands remained conservative on new store openings after witnessing a decline in like-for-like sales. Emerging brands, on the other hand, were more aggressive in new store openings, the report said.
