Chinese buy more luxuries overseas

Luxury brands had a tough time in China last year, with domestic consumers more willing to go overseas for bargains.

According to the 2014 China Luxury Report, which was released on Saturday by the Shanghai-based research center Fortune Character Institute, 117 million Chinese tourists visited abroad last year, a 20 percent year-on-year increase.

Total luxury purchases by Chinese consumers overseas rose by 9 percent to $81 billion, while luxury purchases in the domestic market declined by 11 percent to $25 billion.