• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’

2

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it

3

The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families

1

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’

2

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it

3

The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families

China’s slowdown casts a long shadow over luxury groups

By
Geoffrey Smith
Geoffrey Smith
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Geoffrey Smith
Geoffrey Smith
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 15, 2015, 6:04 AM ET
General Retail Images During The Lunar New Year Holiday
A pedestrian carries shopping bags in Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Temperatures in Hong Kong dropped as low as 7.4 degrees Celsius (45 degrees Fahrenheit) today, the coldest reading during a Lunar New Year holiday since 1996, the Hong Kong Observatory reported. Photographer: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Jerome Favre — Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

China’s economic slowdown is casting a long shadow over Europe’s luxury goods makers.

 

U.K. fashion group Burberry Plc (BURBY) saw its shares fall 12% Thursday after reporting a sharp sales slowdown in the three months to September in China and Hong Kong, which account for around a third of its global sales.

The British firm said it would accelerate cost cuts and slash bonuses across the group in order to restore profits in what it warned was “an increasingly challenging environment for luxury consumers.”

Revenue (on a like-for-like store basis) grew a meager 1%, down from 8% in the previous quarter and over 5% short of analysts’ forecasts, according to Reuters.

The company now expects pretax profit in its fiscal year ending next March to be around 445 million British pounds ($689 million), down 2.4% from its 2015 fiscal year.

Luxury goods producers have bet heavily on China as two decades of stellar growth produced a market of high-spending nouveaux riches, but the bet has turned sour in the last two years. At first, that was due largely to a clampdown by Beijing on conspicuous consumption by its elite as part of a high-profile anti-corruption campaign, but the problem has spread this year as the broader economy has slowed down. Spending power has been crimped as the central bank to allowed the Chinese currency to fall for the first time since the financial crisis.

Earlier this week, French luxury goods group LVMH SA (LVMHF) had announced similarly disappointing results, at least in its fashion and leather goods business, where Chinese sales went from 10% growth in the second quarter to flat in the third.

Both LVMH and Burberry were partially able to compensate for weakness in China with strong performances in the U.S. and, especially, Japan. Burberry said comparable store sales in Japan was up 50% on the year. The trouble is, it still only accounts for 2% of global revenue–a small fraction of what the Greater Chinese market generates.

 

About the Author
By Geoffrey Smith
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Luxury

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’
Success
Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 18, 2026
2 days ago
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
Environment
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
By Sydney LakeJune 19, 2026
15 hours ago
The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families
Economy
The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families
By Jacqueline MunisJune 17, 2026
2 days ago
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
Success
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
By Preston ForeJune 17, 2026
3 days ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
4 days ago
Current price of gold as of June 18, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 18, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 18, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.