Analysts from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) have said 2024 is proving to be a problematic year for luxury brands in China, but have insisted that not all the news is negative from the point of view of high-end products.

Milan-based senior partner Filippo Bianchi, who focuses on the luxury sector, has told business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore that BCG is expecting a double-digit decline for the industry in China this year compared to 2023.

But he made two points that are more encouraging for brands. The first is that higher earners in China are making shopping trips to South Korea, Japan, Singapore and other nearby destinations where luxury brands have a good presence.

Mr Bianchi said a triple-digit increase in Chinese shoppers’ spend on luxury goods in those places is a possibility this year.

The second point is that, while there is an ongoing contraction in spending in China on what BCG calls “aspirational products”, the value of acquisitions by consumers that it refers to as “high-spenders” is up by 15%.

According to Filippo Bianchi, said these high-worth consumers are concentrating on products that they perceive to be long-lasting and to be capable of holding their value over a long product lifetime.

Image shows a newly opened Hermès store in Shenzhen, the brand’s largest in southern China.