To grasp how important Chinese consumers have been for the global luxury industry over the past decade and a half, you just need to look at how badly sales have been hit by a ferocious two-year Communist party clampdown on corruption and conspicuous consumption.
The chief executive of one leading Swiss watch company, who wishes to remain anonymous, says that before the anti-corruption campaign as many as 65 out of every 100 of his watches were sold in China. Today, only 25 out of 100 are bought by Chinese.
In 2000, Chinese consumers accounted for less than 2 per cent of global luxury spending in a worldwide market in which 140m luxury consumers spent some €130bn.
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