Europe goes Chinese? The impact of Chinese globetrotters on European luxury shops

As they travel more, the Chinese consumers are making a rapidly-growing share of their luxury purchases outside the Mainland. There are several reasons that exhort Chinese luxury consumers to have their expenditures outside their home country, being economic, cultural and social. With so many Chinese visiting elegant store on their travels, luxury brands must try to provide consistent positioning in the outlets around the world. In order to analyze the impact of Chinese globetrotters on European luxury retailing, a research was made inside a Christian Dior shop in Venice, by mean of the observation of 346 consumer behaviors in a period of four months. The evidences from the observation of the Chinese consumer behaviors in the Dior’s retail store in Venice underline some aspects should be analyzed and considered in facing the Chinese consumer going global. Despite the event limitations this research disclosed an additional aspect in the luxury goods buying behavior that is strictly connected with the globalization of the Chinese customer, influencing the sales strategy of western companies not only in China but also in their domestic markets.