Property is the first market to cool when the economy slows Andrew Graham, boss of wallpaper business Graham & Brown The family business, which exports to almost 100 markets, has refocused its attentions on the US and Australia to make up the shortfall. At Boodles, the luxury jeweller, sales to wealthy Chinese buyers have also dipped since the stock market crash. “There’s no doubt we’re in a trough at the moment,” said managing director Michael Wainwright. “Sales are definitely thinner.” China accounts for a relatively small proportion of sales, which has been offset by strong demand from the Middle East, he said. “I do hear from Harrods that the take from China is significantly down,” said Mr Wainwright, who runs a shop in the upmarket department store in Knightsbridge, central London. “Anyone who’s overgone for China in the past few years is feeling a bit sore at the moment,” he said. At The Kids Food Company, which trades as Kiddylicious, China remains a key growth market, however. “The [government] cap on children went from one child to two last year,” said chief executive Sally Preston. “China is a big opportunity for us now.” The company is forecasting sales of £10m next year, up from £7.5m in 2015. Kiddylicious’ new product, a wafer for children, has been a runaway success for the business, generating £1m in sales over the past 10 months. The product, which Ms Preston hopes will one day rival the long-established Farley’s Rusks – now manufactured by Heinz – in the children’s food market, should also find a significant appetite in China, she said. “There are over 150m high net worth people in China having children,” she said. “It’s a massive market.”
Data shows that small UK exporters are being hit by China's economic slowdown, as the country's middle class cuts back on Western luxuries. Firms, such as luxury jeweller, Boodles, and ﻿mid-market wallpaper firm, ﻿Graham & Brown, have seen sales go flat since the stock market crash. However, there is a bright spot from The Kids Food Company, which trades as Kiddylicious, with sales predicted﻿ to be £10m next year, up from £7.5m in last year, partly due to the governments'﻿ cap on children going up from one child to two 2015.