Anyone who has visited Chengdu, a second-tier city in western China, cannot miss the ostentatious signs of Louis Vuitton and Cartier in its downtown. According to Chengdu Retail Industry Association, Chengdu is home to 80 percent of international luxury brands and ranked third behind Beijing and Shanghai in luxury sales.

A cover story in Chengdu Today, “Global Luxury Brands Stride Forward in Chengdu,” reveals that Chengdu municipal government has set a goal to bring “twenty famous international brands to Chengdu every year” and “by 2015, primacy ratio of international first-tier brands will reach 80 % or above in western China.” Hurray and hurry, luxury goods companies!

In 2010, Chengdu’s retails sales reached $5.8 billion. Much of it went to luxury brands such as Hermes, Burberry and Prada. Louis Vuitton alone registered record sales of $138 million. Cartier generated more revenue in Chengdu than in any other city in China. Continue reading Profile of Chinese Luxury Shoppers