A long march to Paris’s capitalist shrines

More Americans than Chinese come to Paris,of course,but they spend less. An American’s shopping expenditures run to 40 per cent of a Chinese visitor’s. Only the Russian tourist spends more than the Chinese one,and only slightly.

The Chinese come,for the most part,to the large department stores,like Galeries Lafayette and Au Printemps,each with its own glorious,stained-glass domes,two churches of capitalism.

Pang Hao and his wife,Wang Wenting,both 34,came on a tour with their young daughter,on a bus with 30 others. They had already been to Italy,Germany and Austria; Paris was their last stop. “We do all the shopping here,” Wang said,waiting in line at the Chanel boutique at Galeries Lafayette. “We’re going to spend a lot here.”

The Chinese market has become very important to both stores. Both advertise heavily in China,both work assiduously with tour operators and travel agents there and both have good relations with the Chinese Embassy and business organisations to get the VIP shopper as well. They have staff members who speak Chinese,store maps in Chinese. They take Chinese credit cards.

Galeries Lafayette,which gets some 10 million foreign visitors a year,has been cultivating the Asian market for decades,said Thierry Vannier,its director of international promotion. “We’re more visited than the Eiffel Tower,” Vannier said proudly. Galeries Lafayette is planning to open a store next year in Beijing,where the name is a brand.

On a tour from Hong Kong,John Wu and his wife,Christine Au,were waiting to buy a Louis Vuitton wallet “for Auntie”. “The newest arrivals are here,” he said. “The hottest things.” Asked what struck them on their first trip to Paris,he said,“I was surprised by all the Chinese people here!”

Chinese tourism in France is rising by more than 15 per cent a year; according to Atout France,in 2010 about 550,000 Chinese visited. The average Chinese tourist is male,about 45,lives in a large city and visits the most obvious places—the Eiffel Tower,the Louvre and,of course,the shops. They spend about $1,800 each on shopping. They buy luxury brands for themselves and their friends—especially items that have logos and that they know are not fakes. In China,such goods can cost 20 to 30 per cent more.

“France is distant but we know her well,” said Nong Kang,who works for Atout France in China. “Our greatest writers spent years in France,and everyone here has read a book of Balzac or seen a movie starring French actor Alain Delon.” The Chinese say that they also feel political affinity,conscious of France’s revolutionary past,and that “The Internationale”—the anthem of revolutionary zeal—is French.

Jackie Ho came to Galeries Lafayette from Hong Kong with his family,including his daughter Yuki,14. “The prices are expensive,but the brands are better here,” he said.

Was Paris what they imagined? “Well,the city is not as clean as we thought,” he said. But they plan to buy souvenirs and a watch—”and cosmetics,” Yuki said,giving her father one of those disgusted adolescent looks.STEVEN ERLANGER