article_snippet.sent: Sales were particularly strong in the UK and Europe, not least because hordes of tourists from China flocked here to buy designer clothes and bags.
article_snippet.sent: Currency fluctuations meant Currency fluctuations trademark coats and scarves were up to 50 per cent cheaper in European cities than Hong Kong, where the Chinese traditionally shop for luxury merchandise.
article_snippet.sent: Such was the price gap that Chinese entrepreneurs have been snapping up huge quantities of luxury label merchandise in Europe and then shipping it back to China to sell at a profit on the grey market.
article_snippet.sent: This could mean some price increases in Europe and falls in the Far East.
article_snippet.sent: Richard Hunter, of Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said: