Coronavirus curbs trap $111bn of luxury spending power within China

Jeff Meng, 25, a watch lover from a well-heeled Guangdong family, had 160,000 yuan (Dh83,719) burning a hole in his pocket. He could not find the Rolex Daytona watch he wanted, called “panda” for its black-and-white face, anywhere in China. Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic that has halted travel and disrupted networks of parallel importers, high-end Chinese shoppers such as Mr Meng – who spend $111 billion (Dh407.7bn) a year on luxury goods, more than a third of the industry worldwide – are finding it hard to spend their cash. That is forcing global luxury houses from Balenciaga to Montblanc to rethink how they can reach Chinese consumers on the mainland, despite long-standing concerns that...