Hermes, Gucci fear crackdown under Xi's 'common prosperity' push

Luxury-brand shares sink at prospect of losing China's big-spending rich

A woman shops at a Louis Vuitton store in Shanghai. China's wealthy have been major buyers of global luxury brands in recent years. © Reuters

TAKAHISA MIWA, NQN staff writer

August 24, 2021 06:20 JST

TOKYO -- Luxury brand houses like Hermes and Louis Vuitton have enjoyed an incredible run in China, supported in part by Deng Xiaoping's "get rich first" policy.

But this is to be no more. Chinese President Xi Jinping has stepped up his call for "common prosperity," sending shudders through luxury goods vendors, which worry that China's rich will not be able to splurge on $3,000 bags.