Mario Boselli, President, Italy-China Foundation believes, China is an important market for Italian fashion houses. China is one of the few markets where things are going well for Italian fashion companies and they are taking necessary steps to keep things that way. Nicola Guerini, Director, General, Milan Fashion Institute, believes the success of Italian fashion products and other Italian non-fashion brands in China gives companies a strong base to build on.

The importance of China's market is amplified by the growth of the Chinese economy which has managed to emerge unscathed form the coronavirus pandemic.

As a study from GlobalData indicates, China is set to emerge as the world's largest market for high-end fashion. Some markets in China are already seeing a return in stores of 80 to 100 percent pre-COVID levels. Before the pandemic, a Chinese consumer might have bought a product while traveling in Milan or Rome or Paris, and that would have been the end of the transaction. Now, they know the brands and they buy them from a local store in their home city. That can create a relationship because the store can tell them when new products are available, or when there are sales or special events, said Guerini

Boselli opines, Italian companies will do well as long as demand from Chinese customers remains high.