In China, luxury goods shopping is more a man’s domain than a woman’s.

According to research firm CLSA, men account for 55 per cent of China’s luxury market.

And Chinese men spend on average 61 per cent more than Chinese women on fragrances and 52 per cent more on watches, says Vinay Dixit of McKinsey’s Asia Consumer Center.

According to Victor Luis of Coach Retail International, men account for around 45 per cent of China’s $1.2 billion luxury bag market compared to just seven per cent in the US.

Nowadays, “men love beautiful things more”, says PR manager Luckas Lee, who spends around 5000 yuan (US$840) monthly on shopping.

Men also shop to reward themselves and to make a statement.

“For men, they’re primarily looking for the premium brands for watches, shoes and costumes. And basically that is going to reward themselves and meanwhile have their own personal statement of their status and identity,” said Jeffrey Zhao, associate director of consumer research at Nielsen.

With male spending driving the luxury market, there’s no doubt that China will overtake Japan as the world’s largest luxury market, as predicted by McKinsey.