Since mainland China dropped all its coronavirus travel curbs, the head honchos of the world’s most recognisable luxury brands have been making a beeline there, with French billionaire Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of LVMH, the latest to make a high-profile visit.
Arnault, who reportedly chose a shopping mall in Beijing as his first port of call on Tuesday, then swung by Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province, and Shanghai before making his way to Hong Kong on Friday, touring shops such as Dior, under the group’s banner.
He was the second top executive of a French high-end fashion group to embark on an apparent charm offensive to tap the huge mainland Chinese luxury market after a visit in February by Francois Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of Kering, whose brands include Cartier, Saint Laurent and Gucci.
Others CEOs of feted international brands to make the trip recently include Tesla founder Elon Musk, who visited his massive Shanghai plant in May, and JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon whose visit in the same month aimed to underline the US investment bank’s commitment to the country.
These visits highlight how brands and businesses are increasingly relying on China’s 1.4 billion population, the world’s second-largest, to drive growth amid uncertainties in the US and Europe, according to analysts.
Mainland Chinese consumers are poised to splurge this year on expensive goods, fuelling a “luxury spring”, according to Bain and Company. But unlike the pre-pandemic trend of buying luxury goods overseas, this year they are more likely to buy high-end items within China, with between 25 and 30 per cent of their luxury purchases being made abroad.
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