Over the past several years, Hong Kong's economy has received a huge boost from the ever-growing numbers of mainland tourists splashing cash in the city's high-end stores.
But it's not only local tills that have been ringing because of these roving shoppers. Retailers in Europe and the United States are also the main beneficiaries. Figures from China's National Tourism Administration shows mainlanders chalked up about 54 million overseas trips in 2010. During their jaunts, they spent a total of US$48 billion, with shopping accounting for 60 per cent of that expenditure.
One of the main reasons most of the mainland consumers' spending on luxury goods takes place overseas is the high import duties charged on these items which were first imposed two decades ago.
Now under pressure at home - and from exporters and governments abroad - Beijing looks set to cut these taxes. In June, Ministry of Commerce spokesman Yao Jian said a drop in the tariff on luxury goods was only 'a matter of time'.
So does this necessarily mean the outlook is grim for those working in the luxury goods sector in Hong Kong?
'Cutting the import tax on luxury goods may boost the overall retail market on the mainland,' says Angus Wai, general manager for human resources at Fairton International Group. 'This means the overall size of the cake would be bigger.'