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Video: Costliest places in Asia for men’s luxury items
Research shows that men are the biggest spenders in the luxury sector. But if you want to save money, which cities in Asia should you avoid when purchasing men's luxury items?
Janette Chen 13 Feb 2019

Although China takes up one-third of the global luxury spending, it might not be the best place for high net worth individuals (HNWIs) looking to purchase men's luxury items, given the fact that Shanghai is ranked as the most expensive place to purchase these goods.

Men have traditionally been considered as the major purchasing power in the luxury sector. According to the Bain Luxury Study, published by Bain & Company in 2017, men are next to millennials and Generation Z in terms of the biggest contributors to global luxury sales.

And Asian markets, particularly China, have been driving the growth of luxury sales. China accounts for 32% of the spending in the entire global luxury goods industry, according to the latest Wealth Report Asia by Julius Baer. In 2019, the country's HNWIs' appetite for luxury products remains robust.

About 46% of Chinese consumers say that they plan to spend more on luxury products over the next 12 months, according to the 2019 China Luxury Forecast issued recently by Ruder Finn and Consumer Search Group. Chinese mainland consumers spent an average of 240,000 yuan on luxury items in 2018.

However, China might not be the best choice if you are looking to purchase men's luxury items.

On a price-weighted basis, in 2017 and 2018, Shanghai prices ranked as the costliest or the second most expensive for many of the luxury items that are often purchased by men, according to Julius Baer's wealth report.

Shanghai was the most expensive place among Asian major cities to buy watches and wines in 2018. The city also ranked the second priciest in purchasing cars and cigars in the same year.

The only sector where Shanghai was not placed in one of the top two places over the past two years was men's suit. In fact, this sector witnessed the most significant changes in the city rank in 2018. Seoul used to be the most expensive place to purchase men's suits in 2017, but in 2018, it ranked the fourth. Shanghai and Hong Kong, which used to rank the second and the third in 2017, had become less pricey, ranking the seventh and the eighth respectively in 2018.

The ranking of watches changed little in 2018, with Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok, Taipei and Jakarta continuing to be the most expensive among Asian major cities. Tokyo took Kuala Lumpur's crown to become the cheapest in 2018.

If you are planning to purchase cigars, choose Tokyo. The city continued to rank as the least expensive among Asia's major cities in 2018. And Bangkok, which used to rank as the fourth most expensive city, surpassed Shanghai, Singapore and Manila to become the most expensive place.

In the car sector, Singapore and Shanghai continued to be the most expensive cities, while Kuala Lumpur, which ranked the eighth in 2017, had become the cheapest in 2018. In the wine sector, Shanghai continued to be the most expensive city in 2018. Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Seoul were the cheapest places.

 

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