Luxury Liquor Returns Slowly to China

October 20, 2015 – In 2012 China’s President Xi Jinping made it clear that the good life was over. No more lavish expense account entertaining and no more bottles of Cognac at $150 a pop. Gloom set in, not only for the deprived Chinese executives and bureaucrats, but also for the French Cognac exporters. Of course, it wasn’t just Cognac but any expensive liquor or wine, clothes, cars, and so on that were frowned upon from on high.

However, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the austerity and anti corruption program is showing signs of a thaw. There’s a rising young consumer class that is ready to spend their own money on trading up on consumer goods, including higher end liquor. While the new middle class is not purchasing the very expensive stuff, there’s movement in that direction, too. The old inventory has finally been sold and orders are being placed for replacement product.

A return to the good life in China will be a boon for exporters of luxury goods in the U.S. and elsewhere. Let’s hope it continues.