Popularity of luxury products in China falls . - A survey carried out by Ipsos and the Ruder Finn agency are forecasting a slowdown in purchases of luxury products in China but certain sectors will be more affected than others. Beauty products and clothes are not expected to be affected by the crisis, on the contrary, middle-class households are expecting to increase their purchases in these sectors. Money spent on watches, jewellery, wine, footwear and handbags, however, is expected to remain stable. According to Ruder Finn, Chinese consumers will purchase increasing amounts of beauty products and clothes on the domestic market with supply of these products having improved. They are prepared to wait until they go on holiday abroad in Europe to buy other luxury products deemed more authentic, explained 64% of survey respondents. With regard to the purchasing of watches and wine, the Chinese prefer to shop in Europe, jewels and handbags in Hong Kong and clothes and footwear at home. The survey also revealed increasing dissatisfaction (92% compared to 60-70% in previous years) of Chinese consumers with services provided by luxury brands. Chinese consumers were less satisfied with service than those in Europe and they also tended to be much younger. Millionaires have an average age of 35, 15 years younger than their counterparts in Europe or the US. (IL/transl.fl)