China’s potential as a land of shoppers was spotted long before Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany began erecting megastores in its biggest cities. An Englishman, writing in 1840, noted: “If we could only persuade every person in China to lengthen his shirttail by a foot, we could keep the mills of Lancashire working round the clock.”
While Lancashire’s mills may be long gone, the willingness of the Chinese consumer to buy shirts, bling and everything in between is propping up the world’s retailers.
“For the moment, China is extremely into very high-end, pricey goods – and the complete opposite,” says Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, chief executive and chairman of Hugo Boss, the luxury menswear group.