Thursday, January 03, 2008

Hey big (bbc) spenders....

I found this article on the Daily Telegraph website. It seems to suggest that Chinese people - not just overseas tourists but British-born Chinese too - hit the sales particularly big style this year:

The Chinese - both British-born and from overseas - are reputed to have taken the sales by storm this year, searching for luxury goods at knock-down prices.

Retailers including Selfridges and John Lewis have reported the trend, one of the knock-on effects of a booming Chinese economy. Around 700 million people are expected to have joined the Chinese "consumer class" by 2020.

A spokesman for Selfridges said: "The Chinese have always been keen on status symbols. And luxury goods, especially handbags, have become increasingly popular.

"We have a particularly strong handbag department - that's why we've attracted a large number of Chinese, both British residents and tourists. Even Chinese students were spending heavily."

I can well believe that the number of wealthy Chinese tourists coming here is on the up but I didn't realise that we bbcs were noticeably bigger spenders at the sales than other people. Maybe I'm just not a big shopper!

2 comments:

www.Cosmetic-Candy.com said...

Where I am in Manc, there are always tons of Chinese (I suspect Mainland) buying Gucci, Chanel and LV, driving big new Mercedes, even when they are students. Mum and Dad funding it from home?!

Anna said...

I agree, when it comes to buying goods the chinese do it in style. As a BBC, I know how much money can be thrown about without a blink-of-an-eye. My mum often says that money is like water to some! Don't know if you've heard that expression. I grew up in Southampton and I think my spending power is the same as a lot of western working class people. Ok so my weekend shift at my parents' take away gave me that little extra but I could never afford any expensive designer gear. It wasn't until I moved to London and was surrounded by international student (Chinese, Japanese, Korean....) that how 'poor' I was. They all had designer bags hanging off their arms, stylish new clothes every day and immaculate hair and make-up - surely this all costs money. Anyway I just came to the conclusion their mummy and daddy back home funded their spending spree! I can't compete with them and I don't want to. I'm happy shopping in Primark :)