Chinese crackdown on gift giving could hurt luxury brands
25/09/2012
Beijing has said it is to crack down on “conspicuous consumption”, reports Reuters, particularly after recent scandals involving government officials.
The government has imposed a "frugal working style" rule on its civil servants, barring them from spending public money on banquets or luxury cars, and from accepting expensive gifts. Gift giving is considered a sign of respect in Chinese culture, and has been a reliable source of income for the world's top luxury brands.
Chinese police inspectors are now learning to recognise luxury brands to help them expose corruption, according to local media.
"Luxury products are highly expensive and civil servants, whose salaries are about 5,000 yuan ($790.6) a month, cannot afford them," the China Daily reported. "So officials who possess luxury products should give convincing explanations on how they got them."
Share this story:
