Chinese customers flock to UK Credit Crunch bargains

Forget coming to Shanghai to pick up a cheap knock-off handbag, the latest fashion is for middle-class Chinese to head to the UK to pick up the real thing at knock-down prices.

In the U.K., the combined effect of lower taxes on luxury goods and the plummeting British pound have meant that even full-priced items are effectively 50% off to Chinese shoppers.

Many who've recently traveled to the U.K. report that branches of Louis Vuitton now employ Mandarin speaking sales assistants and, at the Manchester store, customers are restricted to a maximum of 5 handbags per customer.

If that's put you in the mood for an English vacation (and a quick shopping trip for a stunning Valentine's Day gift), Virgin Atlantic and British Airways fly daily from Pudong to London's Heathrow airport.