中国奢侈品胃口减弱

China's voracious appetite for luxury goods is starting to wane as wealthy buyers succumb to nervousness about the country's slowing economy and the government cracks down on corruption that often takes the form of pricey gifts.

中国对奢侈品的巨大胃口开始减弱，原因一是有钱的买家开始对不断放缓的中国经济感到不安，二是中国政府在打击贪污腐败，而腐败常常藏身于价格不菲的礼物当中。

Sales of everything from gold watches to leather handbags are declining, although they are still robust by global standards. Nevertheless, the downturn is a blow to the world's luxury-brand companies, who once considered the Chinese market to be immune to the economic malaise afflicting their business in Europe and the U.S.

无论是金表还是皮质手袋，所有奢侈品销售都在减速，尽管按照国际标准，其势头仍很强劲。不过，这种下行趋势对全球奢侈品公司来说仍是个沉重打击。这些公司曾一度认为中国市场不会受到困扰其欧美业务的经济不景气的影响。

In the latest sign that red-hot sales are cooling, shares of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd., the world's largest retailer by sales, fell 8.7% in trading in Hong Kong Thursday after it reported late Wednesday that its revenue rose 16% in the three months ending in June. That compares with annual income growth of 61% for the 12 months through March. Nearly all the company's more than 1,500 outlets are in Greater China, which includes the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau.

奢侈品销售热潮降温的最新迹象是，按销售额计算世界最大珠宝零售商周大福珠宝集团有限公司(Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd.，简称：周大福)在香港上市的股票周四下跌了8.7%。此前，周大福周三晚间发布财报称，截至6月份的一个季度收入增长了16%。相比之下，截至今年3月这一财年周大福年收入增幅为61%。周大福共有门店1,500余家，其中几乎所有门店都设在大中华地区(包括中国内地、香港和澳门)。

'The affluent people in Hong Kong and China are making fewer purchases due to the weak economic sentiment,' said Kent Wong, group managing director at Chow Tai Fook in Hong Kong.

周大福董事总经理黄绍基(Kent Wong)说，由于经济不景气，香港和中国内地的富人都减少了购物。

He added that sales of the priciest items going for more than one million Hong Kong dollars, or at least US$130,000, are down significantly as the rich splurge less.

他还说，因为富人不再挥霍消费，价格超过100万港元(合至少13万美元)的高档产品的销售额大幅下滑。

On Wednesday, shares in U.K. fashion label Burberry Group PLC tumbled after the company reported that sales growth from its Asian-Pacific region, dominated by China, fell to 16% in the first quarter from 67% a year earlier.

周三，英国时装品牌博柏利集团(Burberry Group PLC)发布财报称，该公司第一季度亚太地区（以中国为主）销售增速从上年同期的67%跌至16%，其股价应声大跌。

In the past several years, China has become a critical market for luxury companies. It has 2.7 million high-net-worth individuals with assets of more than six million yuan, about US$1 million, and 63,500 people worth more than 100 million yuan, roughly US$15 million, according to Shanghai-based wealth research firm Hurun Report.

过去几年，中国已成为奢侈品公司的一个重要市常据上海财富研究机构胡润百富(Hurun Report)统计，在中国资产超过人民币600万元(约合100万美元)的高净值人士就有270万，资产超过1亿元(约合1,500万美元)的有63,500人。

The desire for luxury has expanded beyond the elites to middle-class and lower-class consumers, making China the primary engine for the growth of luxury companies. For Italian luxury company Prada SpA, 24% of its global sales come from China, compared with 13% from North America.

对奢侈品的渴望已从中国精英人士扩大至中低产阶级的消费者，中国从而成为推动奢侈品公司增长的主要动力。意大利奢侈品牌普拉达(Prada)的全球销售额有24%来自中国，仅有13%来自北美。

China's economy is expanding at the slowest rate since the global financial crisis, dragged down by falling exports to Europe and a prolonged effort by the government to bring down house prices.

受对欧洲出口的下降和中国政府长期打压房价努力的影响，中国经济正在经历全球金融危机以来的最慢增长。

'This is a wake-up call that everything - Europe, the U.S. and China - is connected,' said Luca Solca, head of research at brokerage CA Cheuvreux. 'Many are losing the mood to buy luxury,' he said.

经纪公司CA Cheuvreux研究部主管索尔卡(Luca Solca)说，这是个警钟，提醒我们欧洲、美国和中国是息息相通的，很多人现在都没了购买奢侈品的心情。

Recent crackdowns on corruption, and investigations into the assets of government officials, may be adding to the slump, according to analysts at brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. Around 16% of consumers who bought luxury goods in the 12 months before Junesaid they were gifts for business contacts, according to data from CLSA. This week, the Chinese government banned civil servants from using government funds to purchase luxury goods, according to the state-run TingVoa.com News Agency.

据经纪公司里昂证券亚太区市场(CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets)的分析师说，中国最近的反腐行动以及对政府官员资产进行的调查可能加剧奢侈品需求疲弱的状况。据里昂证券的数据显示，截至6月份的12个月，购买奢侈品的消费者中有约16%的人说，他们买的奢侈品是在业务往来中送礼用的。据新华社报道，中国政府本周宣布禁止公务员用公款购买奢侈品。

Jewelry and watch sales, often tied to gift-giving in China between officials and businessmen, have been hit hard, especially in Hong Kong, a mecca for wealthy Chinese shoppers.

珠宝和手表的销售常常是与中国官商之间的送礼分不开的。这类奢侈品的销售受到了严重打击，特别是在香港这个中国有钱人购物的“圣地。

According to Silvia Liu, an economist at UBS, the volume of watch and jewelry transactions in Hong Kong fell 3% in May from a year earlier, while the value of those goods sold grew only 3%.

据瑞银(UBS)经济学家Silvia Liu说，5月份，香港手表和珠宝交易量同比下滑3%，交易额仅增长3%。

'The numbers will get weaker,' she predicted.

她预测，销售情况将变得更加疲弱。

'The big spenders have disappeared,' said Joseph Chu, executive director at Hong Kong dealer Prince Jewellery & Watch. A year ago, more than 20 tourists each month from China would spend over HK$1 million on a watch at one of Prince's 16 stores. But these days, he said, the number has dwindled to three or four per month.

香港珠宝商太子珠宝钟表(Prince Jewellery & Watch)执行董事朱继陶说，一掷千金的顾客不见了。一年前，每月会有20多位内地游客在太子珠宝钟表门店花100多万港元买块手表。太子珠宝钟表有16家门店。朱继陶说，但现在人数减少到了每月三四个人。

Sales of jewelry in China in the first quarter slowed, with increases of 20% compared with 59% a year earlier, according to data from CLSA and China's National Bureau of Statistics.

据里昂证券和中国国家统计局的数据显示，一季度中国珠宝销售增长放缓，同比仅增长20%，而上年同期的增幅为59%。

Still, China remains the world's fastest-growing market for luxury goods and is projected to overtake Japan and the U.S. to become the largest luxury market by 2015, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group.

尽管如此，据波士顿咨询公司(Boston Consulting Group)说，中国仍是世界上增长最快的奢侈品市场，并有望在2015年前超过日本和美国成为全球最大的奢侈品市常

Aaron Fischer, a Hong Kong-based CLSA analyst, said that slowing revenue had been expected after an unusually good year for luxury sales in China last year. Companies such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci Group have been boosting sales with rapid store expansion across China. But the pace of store openings for these large brands isn't sustainable, said Mr. Fischer.

里昂证券驻香港分析师余雅乐(Aaron Fischer)说，在去年中国奢侈品销售经历了非凡的一年后，人们就已经预计今年奢侈品销售收入增长会放缓。路易威登(Louis Vuitton)和古驰(Gucci Group)等公司在中国各地迅速增设新店，进而推动销售。但余雅乐说，这些大品牌开设新店的速度是不可持续的。

Latecomers to China are still seeing strong sales increases. Prada, which began its expansion in the country after listing last year, reported in June that sales from the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan岸the company's largest market岸jumped 47% in the first quarter.

一些较晚进入中国市场的奢侈品公司仍在中国实现了强劲的销售增长。普拉达去年上市后开始在中国扩大业务。该公司6月份公布收益说，一季度亚太地区（不含日本）的销售收入飙升了47%。该地区是普拉达最大的市常

Meanwhile, other companies continue undeterred with aggressive expansion plans.

与此同时，其他公司毫不畏缩地继续推进大举扩张计划。

Chow Tai Fook said it is sticking to its plan of opening 600 stores over the next three years, mostly in smaller cities.

周大福说，该公司将坚持在未来三年开设600家新店的计划，其中大部分新店将位于较小的城市。

Halewinner Group, a luxury-watch retailer based in Hong Kong that sells Audemars Piguet and Omega among other brands, is opening its sixth store on Friday in Xiamen, a city of nearly four million in Fujian province, and is on track to open 10 stores in less than a year.

香港高档手表零售商喜运佳钟表集团(Halewinner Group)周五将在厦门开设其第六家门店，并有望在一年内增设10家门店。该公司销售爱彼(Audemars Piguet)和欧米茄(Omega)等品牌的手表。厦门位于福建省，人口有近400万。

'There will be more rich people there,' said Karson Choi, the company's chairman.

该公司董事长蔡加赞说，那里会有更多的有钱人。