Opinion / Why Apple is wrong to blame Chinese consumers for its falling sales
The nation’s luxury sector is strong thanks to continuing Chinese consumer demand for high-end goods – at home and abroad, says Nick Cakebread
It appears the bear is loose, as forecasts are pointing to a global recession – and to some, China is just the right size to blame.
Don’t lay the blame at China’s door
According to the American multinational technology company Apple, sales of the iPhone are down in China – and not because Chinese consumers are buying more reasonably priced, excellent quality, domestic brands such as Huawei and Vivo – but because, overall “luxury spending in China is down”.
However, equating Apple to Louis Vuitton is akin to comparing apples to Fabergé eggs. They’re not in the same category.
Chinese consumers shifting from Apple to home-grown premium domestic brands doesn’t foretell Chinese buyers turning away from LV or other luxury brands.
When reading the big headlines warning of stalled growth and failure, it’s important to keep things in perspective.
Put away the crystal ball
Rather than indulge in doomsday predictions for the outlook of the global economy in 2019 or engage in Western-China hand-wringing, I prefer to look at facts.
In doing so, we can see that they quite clearly point to a bright spot when it comes to growth in 2019: luxury, and China’s continued appetite for luxury goods both at home and abroad.
Luxury sales in China have been undeniably strong