How Chinese gangs trick Louis Vuitton staff and EU taxpayers to get cheaper handbags for the grey market
Dark Luxury exclusively reveals how Chinese gangs exploit the price difference between handbags sold in Europe and China, and cash in extra profit via VAT refunds.
One morning in early 2024, two Chinese tourists entered the Louis Vuitton store on Paseo de Gràcia in Barcelona, planning to buy some handbags. The pair were ready to splash out, contributing to the $40 million that’s spent on average every year at flagship Louis Vuitton stores around the world.
But this was no ordinary shopping spree.
While browsing the store, one of the pair felt he was being watched. Another man had entered the shop shortly after them and was lingering nearby, watching him and his partner. “It’s not illegal what I’m doing”, he might have thought, echoing a conversation with his partner earlier in the day.
Shaking off an onset of nerves, he followed the plan, catching the attention of a member of staff. With their help, he picked three – total price tag, €5,450, including tax. “Nothing too flashy”, he reminded himself. Not too expensive. Mid-market.
His nerves jangled again when approaching the till. “I’d like to pay in cash”, he said, retrieving an envelope with €6,000 in notes. Despite a raised eyebrow from the Louis Vuitton assistant, the transaction proceeded, and he took the bags and almost €500 of change.
As the pair left the store, a woman sat nearby, their landlord for the next two days. She greeted them, took their purchases and stuffed them into her coat. She unceremoniously dumped the yellow paper Louis Vuitton shopping bags on the bench and left.
The tourists may not have known it at the time, but they were acting for gangs at the forefront of a thriving grey market in China estimated to be worth up to $100 billion, which ruthlessly takes advantage of the difference in price between luxury goods sold in China and abroad.