(Yicai) May 22 -- France’s LVMH, Britain’s Burberry, Italy’s Gucci and other foreign luxury fashion houses logged tumbling sales in China in the first three months due to the shifting tastes of Chinese consumers and a rebound in overseas shopping by Chinese tourists.

Burberry’s sales in the Asia-Pacific region plunged 17 percent in its fourth fiscal quarter ended March 30, and that on the Chinese mainland plummeted 19 percent, the London-based company said in its recent earnings report.

While Italy’s Gucci logged a 28 percent dive in first-quarter sales from a year earlier in the Asia-Pacific region, the area which posted the biggest decline in sales, according to parent firm Kering’s latest financial report. And Italian high-end shoemaker Tod’s also reported a 24 percent drop in sales in China.

First-quarter sales in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes China, sank, mainly due to the rebound in overseas travel, Paris-based LMVH said. Revenue from the Asian market, excluding Japan, slumped 6 percent in the first three months from a year earlier, accounting for 33 percent of total revenue from the previous 36 percent.

Japan is now the main shopping destination for Chinese buyers of high-end goods, thanks to the recent depreciation of the Japanese yen, rather than Europe.

LMVH’s Japan sales surged by double digits over the period, boosted by the number of Chinese tourists traveling to Japan to snap up luxury handbags, senior management said during the earnings call.

Chinese consumers’ tastes are changing, which is contributing to the tumbling sales of luxury goods. "If all I want is a logo, why not buy from discount outlets at a better price,” one netizen said.

Nowadays, Burberry, Tod’s, Gucci and many other luxury brands are all available in Chinese discount outlets. With price cuts from the fashion houses and discounts from the outlets, some of these luxury goods are now available for less than half their normal retail price, a shopping assistant told Yicai.

China’s luxury goods market will rebound in the second half, said Zhou Ting, an expert in the luxury goods sector. But the marginalization of luxury brands is unavoidable. More high-end niche brands, designer labels as well as products related to China’s intangible cultural heritage will gradually play a bigger role.

Editor: Kim Taylor