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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Business/Markets -> 
Consumption sees uneven recovery
    2020-09-09  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

CHINESE consumers are back to binging on luxury handbags, cosmetics and cars. But this shopping enthusiasm is not extending to mass consumption of sporting goods, beer or restaurants.

An uneven recovery is under way in China as the world’s biggest consumer market also becomes one of the first nations to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic that continues to ravage the global economy.

Bored after months of strict social distancing measures and unable to vacation overseas, wealthy Chinese consumers are seeking comfort in retail therapy. This bodes well for dozens of luxury goods makers whose growth was fueled by China’s increasing affluence in the past decade.

Bloomberg analyzed June-quarter revenue for over two dozen companies that are market leaders in China across key consumer goods categories. Three pandemic-triggered trends emerged, driven mostly by pent-up desire to spend, focus on healthy lifestyles or wariness of public spaces.

Luxury goods makers saw double-digit revenue growth in the latest quarter compared with the same period last year, underscoring the strongest recovery trend. Inability to travel overseas has boosted businesses in the domestic tourism hotspots and duty-free shops.

“The pent-up demand from nearly two months of lockdown between February-March likely led local shoppers to purchase more aspirational brands than mass brands,” said Catherine Lim, a Singapore-based Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.

“Consumers are definitely looking to treat themselves following the scare from the outbreak,” Lim said.

LVMH’s China sales last quarter rose 65 percent from a year ago while overall group revenue dropped 38 percent. The wine-to-watches luxury group has seen “a very good offset in China for the rest of the business, which is suffering,” Jean-Jacques Guiony, LVMH’s chief financial officer, said in an earnings call in late July.

But these spoils are not shared by mass-category consumer products. Other firms such as Anta Sports Products Ltd. and electrical-appliance maker Midea Group Co. have seen little or no sales growth between April and June.

Total retail sales were still decelerating in July, highlighting the continuing economic pain from the coronavirus outbreak. (SD-Agencies)

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