From Americans in tartan sportscoats to sheiks in full headgear, London long ago learned how to pry open the wallets of rich foreigners. Now along come the Chinese, who spend an average of £600 every time they swipe a bit of plastic in the UK, and London is looking for new forms of retail tourism to entice them.
Do you speak Mandarin, and fancy a visit to the beehives on the roof of Fortnum & Mason, where the luxury grocer gets its honey? London Luxury, an association that represents the merchants of Bond Street, Mount Street, Jermyn Street and Savile Row, can create a bespoke tour to take you there for £265 – and lay on a private car for a bit more.
Fancy a bespoke suit from Savile Row? For the same £265, China’s newest wealthy can visit the workshop beneath the Savile Row tailor where that suit will actually be made. Garment workers bent over sewing machines may be more redolent of Shenzhen than Savile Row, but everyone loves seeing bits of London not open to the general public, and London Luxury says the tailors’ workshop tour is a hit with visiting mainlanders. The Royal Warrant tour is another: it promises visitors access to “secret archive material, special viewings of treasured brand assets and heritage pieces” of Mayfair’s Royal Warrant holders. Rich Chinese love the exclusivity.