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Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

How Worried Should Fashion Be About China’s Weakened Economy?

As the country’s economy moves into deflationary territory, manufacturing output declines and a real estate crisis worsens, some consumers are becoming increasingly cautious.
As the economy moves into deflationary territory, the real estate crisis worsens and manufacturing output declines, some consumer cohorts are becoming increasingly cautious.
As the country’s economy moves into deflationary territory, manufacturing output declines and a real estate crisis worsens, some consumers are becoming increasingly cautious. (Getty Images)

Nearly nine months after China’s reopening, warning signs about the economy are piling up. Rosy expectations at the start of the year have given way to a tepid recovery in retail spending, hampered by a slump in manufacturing output, a deepening real estate crisis and record youth unemployment. Now there is another worry.

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Further Reading

Why Luxury’s Recovery in China Is Uneven

The wealthy may be in a mood to splurge but middle-class consumers remain cautious six months after the end of ‘zero-Covid’ policies due to mixed signals in the Chinese economy.

About the author
Tiffany Ap

Tiffany Ap is Senior Correspondent at The Business of Fashion. She is based in New York and covers marketing and the critical China market.

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