Luxury Market Re-commits To China: Tiffany CEO

China's luxury market has been on a roller-coaster since President Xi Jinping launched an anti-corruption campaign in 2012 that curbed extravagant gift-giving among officials and business figures, and weighed on the broader luxury sector.

But New York-based Tiffany's sales grew more than 25 percent in mainland China in the second quarter of this year – in stark contrast to a three-percent drop in the company's global turnover in the same period.

"This strong double-digit growth has been consistent now for several quarters," Bogliolo told AFP in an interview while in Shanghai to launch Tiffany's largest-ever product exhibition.

"I think this is partially because of the general trend in the industry due to currencies and also to the efforts of the (Chinese) government to increase local consumption." China's yuan has steadily declined against the US dollar – a trend hastened lately by trade-war uncertainty.

A significant portion of luxury retailers' sales comes from spending by Chinese tourists overseas, but the weaker currency curbs such buying.

Political protests this year in Hong Kong, where many mainlanders shop for luxury, have also hit sales there.

"Consumption by Chinese tourists in the US and in Hong Kong, because of currency fluctuations, have been decreasing in the last few months," Bogliolo said. (AFP)