Our web poll last week asked readers if luxury brands such as Prada and Hermes will continue to thrive in China, or whether they will eventually face tough competition from home-grown brands.
Readers were not in much doubt. They clearly reckon that China’s emerging millionaires represent a bottomless pit of demand for companies such as Prada and Hermes. Indeed, China could soon overtake Italy and Japan as the leading market for such upscale names.
Even so, that does not mean Prada’s IPO is an obvious buy. The company’s history stretches back almost 100 years, but its emergence as an influential high-fashion house is much more recent only...
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