China world's biggest luxury consumer

A girl passes by a Louis Vuitton store at a shopping mall in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Aug 7, 2013.[Photo/dfic.cn]

While the rest of the world cuts back on spending, Chinese consumers bought 47 percent of all luxury goods in the world in 2013, according to a report by Fortune Character Institute.

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It said about $102 billion was spent on high-end goods by Chinese shoppers last year, making the county the biggest consumer of luxury items in the globe.

Despite slowdown in the world's luxury market, consumption of high-end goods hit a new record of $217 billion in 2013, with a growth rate of 11 percent

Although the Chinese market did see a drop in demand for luxury goods in 2013 reportedly due to government's crackdown on excessive spending, China is still forecast to remain the world's biggest luxury goods market by 2020.

Consumption of luxury goods in China rose 3 percent to $28 billion in 2013, the report said.

Chinese appetite for luxury is the reason why all major European designers, such as Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, have a large presence in China.

At the same time, China's homegrown luxury retailers are also catching up through setting up production lines abroad or forging partnerships with foreign brands.

By focusing on unique Chinese design characteristics and use of culturally auspicious materials like jade and gold, jewelry brands such as Luk Fook and Kin Hung Lee are becoming a big name in the domestic market.

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