Sales of luxury goods in China soared 48 per cent last year to 346 billion yuan (US$53.5 billion) with overseas travel virtually impossible due to the coronavirus. China’s 1.58 million high net worth families, with at least 10 million yuan of investible assets, had an average annual household expenditure of 1.75 million yuan last year
The coronavirus presented affluent families in China with a new challenge last year: just how were they going to spend some 350 billion yuan (US$54 billion) of disposable income on luxury items like jewellery and watches with overseas travel and shopping virtually impossible.
Sales of luxury goods in China soared 48 per cent last year to 346 billion yuan (US$53.5 billion), according to a report released by global management consultancy Bain & Company and the luxury division of online retailer Tmall last month.
China’s share of the global market almost doubled to 20 per cent in 2020, according to the report, with the leather goods and jewellery sector leading the surge with gains of over 70 per cent. Ready-to-wear clothing also improved by more than 40 per cent, with luxury beauty spending up 25 per cent and high-end watch purchases up 20 per cent.
The index represents a basket of 129 high-end goods and services, covering real estate, health and housekeeping, education, travel, watches and jewellery, accessories and skincare, cars, yachts and business jets, leisure life, tobacco, wine and tea and wedding banquets.
Domestic high-end shopping centres, hotels and the auto sales industry said their sectors also witnessed significant recovery in the second half of last year, as the wealthy and upper middle-class sought to spend their money at home having been blocked from overseas travel.
“It looks quite certain that we still won’t be able to go abroad this year, so I may have more spending on tailor-made tours and cars in the mainland. But this will still be my biggest expense even once I can shop and travel abroad,” added Liang.
Luxury shopping in Shanghai
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