No.1 LV (Louis Vuitton)
Louis Vuitton Malletier commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton or shortened to LV. The famous luggage maker since 1854! This prestigious luxury brand opened thousands of stores in the world. Vuitton’s Paris flagship store in Champs Elysées features the brand’s entire range, including leather goods, ready-to-wear clothing, and fashion accessories.
The superstar “Fan Bing Bing” Brand Ambassador of LV in China in 2014
No.2 Chanel
Chanel is a high fashion house that specializes in haute couture and ready-to-wear clothes, perfumes, luxury goods and fashion accessories
Brand founder Coco Chanel created brand Chanel in Paris in 1910, most Chinese people are familiar with Chanel bags, clothing and beauty products. Created by Coco Chanel in 1910, the “white camellia” brand remains a powerful symbol of French luxury. Thanks to its expertise of its artistic director, Karl Lagerfeld, the brand get a new boom.
No.3 Dior
Christian Dior commonly known as Dior, their cosmetics and bags are the most well-known among Chinese consumers. Christian Dior, commonly known as “Dior” in China, is a French company controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault (LVMH the world’s largest luxury group). Dior itself holds 42.36% shares of and 59.01% voting rights within LVMH. (source)
Founded in 1946 by the eponymous Fashion designer Christian Dior, today the company designs and retails ready-to-wear, leather goods, fashion accessories, footwear, jewelry, timepieces, fragrance, makeup, and skincare products while also maintaining its tradition as a creator of recognized haute-couture.
No.4 Cartier
Cartier is a French watch and jewelry maker, founded in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier and Rue Montorgueil in Paris, later the grandchildren developed it into a world-famous brand. Founded in Paris, the company remained under family control until 1964. The company maintains its headquarters in Paris and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Compagnie Richemont SA (second world’s largest luxury group).
No.5 Hermès
Hermès is known for its handmade luggage and handbags. Born in an age when the “horse was king”, the brand of elegant horsemen has become one of the leading names in luxury goods.
Hermès is now famed in China for its ready-to-wear collections and jewelry, timepieces, delightful silk scarves.
No.6 Lancôme
Lancôme is a French luxury perfume and cosmetics brand. Owned by L’Oréal since 1964, it is part of L’Oréal’s Luxury Products division which offers skincare products, fragrances, and make-up at high-end prices.
More information about Lancome here
No.7 Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin is a French footwear designer whose work has incorporated shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature. The French luxury footwear designer whose footwear has incorporated shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature.
No.8 Givenchy
French fashion brand, Givenchy, initially entered the market with perfume as its main product, they then began to get involved in the skincare, cosmetic and clothing industries. luxury French brand of haute couture clothing, accessories and, as Parfums Givenchy, perfumes and cosmetics. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by the couturier “Hubert de Givenchy”, this brand is owned by LVMH and in 1993 achieved a total sales worth of $176 million, making it the second largest apparel division of LVMH after Dior. source
No.9 Lafite
Lafite is a world-famous wine, it currently holds the world record for the most expensive bottle of wine. At least half of all Château Lafite sold in China is fake … so much counterfeit wine but Chinese sellers marketing bottles with similar names. More information here and here
No.10 YSL (Yves Saint Laurent)
YSL is a famous French luxury brand, it is mainly concerned with the fashionable dresses, skin care, fragrances, bags, eyewear and accessories. The legendary “couturier” Yves Saint Laurent, who died in 2008, revolutionized women’s ready-to-wear clothing designs. European brands account for at least 70% of the global luxury goods market, driven predominantly by those made in Italy and France. The output of the sector in 2010 was estimated to be over €440 billion, approximately 3% of European GDP. The management has now been passed to the artistic director “Stefano Pilati”, who continues the brand’s tradition of excellence and sophistication.
Find all the article about :
If you want to receive exclusive Report, send us an email (and you can get it for free)
Social Media Marketing in China Report
little Red book Report
MarketingtoChina
French Luxury in China 2026: What Has Actually Changed
The headline numbers tell a complicated story. China’s personal luxury goods market shrank 3 to 5% in 2025, a sharp improvement from the brutal 17 to 19% collapse in 2024. Bain & Company now forecasts modest growth for 2026. So yes, the floor is in. But calling this a full recovery would be premature.
The total market sits around 350 billion yuan. Louis Vuitton opened a new Beijing flagship on January 13, 2026. LVMH is betting on recovery with multi-story stores for Dior, Tiffany, and Loro Piana in Beijing too. These are long-term bets, not panic moves.
Category performance is split. Beauty is the clear winner, up 4 to 7% in 2025. Fashion dropped 5 to 8%. Leather goods fell 8 to 11%. If your French brand sells handbags, you are competing in the hardest segment right now. If you sell skincare or fragrance, you are in the one place consumers are still spending freely.
The secondhand luxury market grew 15 to 20% in 2025. Chinese consumers are getting sharper about value. They know what a Chanel bag costs on the resale market before they buy it. Heritage and resale value are now part of the purchase decision in a way they were not five years ago.
On platforms, the shift is clear. According to the Hurun Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey 2026, 61% of high-net-worth individuals use Xiaohongshu regularly for product discovery, 13 points ahead of Douyin. If you are not present on Xiaohongshu with quality content, you are invisible at the top of the funnel.
French brands still hold prestige, but the competition from domestic Chinese luxury labels is real and growing. Brands that lean into their French heritage, their artisan history, their “maison” story, outperform those that just push product. This is exactly where China luxury fashion strategy has to evolve: from awareness campaigns to genuine narrative depth adapted for Chinese platforms.
One structural shift that works in your favor: Bain estimates 65% of Chinese luxury consumption now happens inside mainland China. That means your Chinese digital presence, your local retail experience, and your mainland pricing strategy matter more than ever. Understanding Chinese consumer behavior at this level of detail is no longer optional for a luxury brand with China ambitions.
What This Means for Your Brand in China
- Be on Xiaohongshu with real content, not ads. 61% of high-net-worth Chinese consumers use it for research. They want craftsmanship stories, behind-the-scenes content, and peer validation. Brand posts that read like press releases get ignored.
- Connect your Xiaohongshu presence to a Tmall purchase path. The Red Cat Initiative links Xiaohongshu discovery directly to Tmall purchase. A content strategy without a commerce exit is money left on the table.
- Lean hard into heritage and resale value. Chinese buyers in 2026 are doing their homework. If your brand has a story about craft, history, or lasting value, say it clearly and in Chinese. Vague “timeless elegance” copy does not cut through.
- Do not ignore fragrance and beauty if that is in your portfolio. These are the categories growing right now while leather and fashion recover. Entry-price luxury products in beauty are pulling in younger consumers who then move up the product ladder. It is a real acquisition strategy for the China fashion market.
