Second-hand luxury booms in China as Western brands come under pressure
Chinese shoppers are increasingly buying luxury second-hand. The market for pre-owned luxury goods is growing fast while houses such as Louis Vuitton close stores.
Archive image · Photo: Heights / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
China's market for pre-owned luxury goods is growing while sales of new products shrink. According to consultancy Bain, mainland China's personal luxury goods market fell by as much as 19 per cent in 2024 and by a further 3 to 5 per cent in 2025. The second-hand market, by contrast, grew 15 to 20 per cent in 2025, news agency AFP reported.
Chinese consultancy Insight & Info Consulting put second-hand luxury sales at 38.4 billion yuan ($5.7 billion) in 2025 and expects more than 100 billion yuan by 2030. At the Super Zhuanzhuan store in Shanghai, shoppers must wear black gloves so as not to touch the goods. Louis Vuitton has closed five mainland stores in two years, and Galeries Lafayette shut its Beijing flagship in May.
There is also an image problem: LVMH won a trademark case against tea chain Molly Tea over a floral pattern, sparking criticism online, and the group acknowledged a "negative impact". Chen Luo, head of China consumer research at Bank of America, said foreign brands "should work very hard to stay relevant".