Luxury Brand reassert their status in China top-level cities

The new study, carried out by MSN's China portal and published by China Daily, revealed that about a third of consumers in top-tier cities (such as Beijing) purchase luxury goods on a “regular basis.”

Though the demand for luxury goods surging in China, recent research suggests consumers in top-tier cities are growing increasingly disenchanted with the traditional powerhouses such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès.

However what raised eyebrows wasn't that a substantial proportion of people buy luxury items, but rather that more and more people in top-tiered cities are searching for luxury outside of the biggest brands. Their reasoning is that they have become "too common", for instance, 20% of Beijingers own at least one Louis Vuitton bag.

Though it's unlikely that likes of Gucci will ever fall from favour, we could well be at a crossroads both for the Chinese luxury sector and for luxury brands at large. The most powerful marques in the world will have to re-convince many of China's elite of the exclusiveness of their products.

They could perhaps start to reassert their status in top-level cities by offering products at the same time which launched in Europe, the U.S. and Japan.