China exposes luxury brands. While the United States was raising tariffs to curb Asia's growth, Chinese manufacturers decided to make public what for decades was kept secret: luxury brands do not manufacture in Europe. They just appear to. More than 80% of cucci products aremade en in China. More than 60% of Prada, too. Chanel, Hermès, Nike, Fendi, Balenciaga... none is exempt. And now manufacturers are showing everything on : what brands they produce, where their factories are, what materials they use, how much it costs to make them and how much they resell them to you. A Birkin bag from Hermès that costs you $38,000 dollars... is made from materials totaling only $1,400. About $300 pounds cost $10 to produce. A $100 cosmetic... comes in $10 from the factory. They make the pieces in Asia, send them to Europe, sew them a "Made in France" label... and that's it. They sell you a story, not a product This doesn't just change how we consume. It changes how we understand luxury, quality and value. Luxury brands have for decades been a soft power tool: a way to make the world want the Western, the European, the "superior." But if luxury is manufactured in the same place as an unbranded product.... If the materials are the same... If the only difference is a logo.... Then luxury is just marketing. Not quality. Maybe it's not about how much something costs, but how much value you are giving... to a story that was conceived to make you feel less without it #china #luxury #compras #hermes