China’s love affair with luxury has markedly cooled

Some luxury brands are closing stores in China or taking a while to open new ones. (Image: Yoko Kubota/WSJ)

Sat, 22 Feb 2025

By Yoko Kubota, with assistance from Grace ZhuXie Weina used to buy luxury bags that cost US$1,500 (NZ$2,600) or more every couple of months. Last year, instead of bags, she spent about US$2,800 on a gym membership and Pilates lessons.“When people become rich, they feel they need to use material things to fill themselves up to show that they are rich,” said Xie, 45. “But after reaching a certain level, they feel that they no longer need these things to show off.”Boom overLuxury’s lustre is fading in China. A sluggi...

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