The decline of the brand? It appears that emerging markets are slowly moving away from the status-consumption stage towards a more refined, carefully chosen luxury. An example is cited in China by le Monde article. This is typical of more mature markets with slower growth. When consumers first acquire luxury, they want to differentiate themselves from others, expose it. As they become accustomed to luxury, have done more consumer research, they turn towards a higher quality, rarer objects. Professionals will see this as moving up the Kapferer brand pyramid. Can we derive that a sudden fast economic growth (following a period of austerity) will spur an appetite for symbol-based consumption which declines as the economic growth slows down? Would this be the sign that the rapidly emerging Chinese economy is turning into a mature market?