Chinese shoppers splash out after fashion week
THE West End was boosted last month by record sales to Chinese shoppers in a wave of spending triggered by London Fashion Week.
There was a 59 per cent increase in tax free shopping sales to tourists from the country in September compared with the previous month.
The figures from Global Blue, which analyses shopping trends, found that spending on fashion was soaring, with Fashion Week in September fuelling sales.
A total of 87 per cent of Chinese spending was on such items, with luxury brands like Burberry and Gucci among the big sellers.
Chinese visitors splash out an average of £1,300 per head on purchases in the West End.
Meanwhile the latest figures show that across the UK there was a 32 per cent rise in total transactions from Chinese visitors.
A Harrods spokesman said: “At Harrods the trend is for the highly brand conscious Chinese shopper to seek out the very latest, limited edition, and exclusive products.” Designers such as Burberry have identified Asian customers as key to expanding their business while home markets remain relatively weak.