Chinese consumers become privileged clientele. - According to a study by McKinsey & Company, the number of wealthy households is continually growing (+16% a year) despite the economic crisis and will be more than 4 million households by 2015. This development puts China into 4th place on the list of countries in the world with the largest number of wealthy households. In first, second and third place are the US, Japan and the United Kingdom respectively. In 2008, the number of wealthy households in China-defined as urban households with annual income in excess of €25,000 (this amount would be worth around €70,000 in western countries) -reached 1.6 million in 2008. While the wealthy currently account for less than 1 percent of urban Chinese households (10% in Europe or the US), their numbers are growing and McKinsey underlines that one-half of today's wealthy consumers were not wealthy four years ago. Another characteristic is that this increasing wealth is not just affecting the big cities but also smaller cities, although 30% of these households are currently in Shanghai, Peking, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. According to McKinsey, the Chinese nouveau riche are usually entrepreneurs, educated and young, which is different from their peers in the US or Japan. They are therefore more influenced by foreign brands. Consumer behaviour is changing too. 60% of Chinese consumers made their purchases in China a few years ago where now they buy their luxury products abroad. (I.L./transl.rh)