This has been evidenced by the quick recovery in the aftermath of the recent lockdowns in cities like Shanghai; the long lines outside Hermes, Dior and Chanel are testament to people\u2019s desire to purchase luxury goods, despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic in their personal and business lives.<\/p>\n China still presents the biggest opportunity for premium and luxury brands, and though there are an increasing number of fantastic Chinese brands across many premium sectors, foreign luxury is still seen as the \u201creal\u201d luxury. The maturity and sophistication of consumers in China today means that there is an appetite for new brands and experiences. Smaller and niche brands, whether in fashion, tech, beauty or travel, have the opportunity to leverage social media \u2013 particularly user-generated content-driven platforms like Xiaohongshu<\/a> \u2014 and build communities of fans in ways they could never have done before.<\/p>\n With China\u2019s border largely closed since March 2020, it\u2019s more important than ever to have a robust and flexible China strategy. Travel restrictions mean that luxury consumers are not yet back to travelling to Europe and the UK, but the appetite is there, as evidenced by the recent strength of luxury duty free sales in Hainan, where about 95% of duty free sales in 2021 were personal luxury items such as luxury brand cosmetics.<\/p>\n![\"launchpad](\"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/lp-gateway.png\")
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