Chinese consumers were once the crown jewel of customers for luxury brands. But fashion houses like LVMH and Kering have fallen out of favor with the country’s wealthy elite. Just a few years ago, China was the darling of luxe spending; from 2017 to 2021, the luxury market in the country tripled in size. Shoppers were obsessed with conspicuous consumption, and China became the new focus for fashion conglomerates hoping to revel in that growth. But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and the country went into lockdown. At the time, the majority of luxury goods purchased by Chinese shoppers were picked up in travel hotspots like Paris, London, and New York. When in-person shopping and jet-setting came to a halt, retail giants like LVMH and Kering brought business inside the country. It proved to be a crippling business mistake. These fashion titans believed the Chinese luxury boom would only propel upward, but tension among consumers was simmering under the surface. Buyers were financially stretched thin and having a change of heart in terms of how they spent their money. The new Louis Vuitton bag or flashy Versace dress was no longer as appealing—they wanted to be more practical and invest for the […]