The Future of the Luxury Market in China

Abstract

As Europe and the United States struggle with the debt crisis, multinational companies are beginning to focus their investment in the Asian market, specifically China. While
there are recent reports of some economic problems in China with the slowest expansion in three years and decreased spending, luxury brands continue to expand because of the
large demand between the growing middle class and wealthy consumers. Bain & Co. stated that China’s $35 billion luxury market is the second largest in the world and that one
in four luxury global shoppers is Chinese. The American company, Estée Lauder, is expanding its foreign investment in China by adding a completely new brand created for the
luxury market called Osiao. The most recent major company enter the luxury market was EBay, the company creator of an online market place, even though it failed in China five
years ago. Although China creates a great deal of political uncertainty, the fact still remains that Europe and the United States, areas where most luxury goods companies
started and have grown from, are currently in crisis. The future of the luxury market continues to be in China.