Twelve Chinese brands feature among the world's top 100, but it is Chinese consumers' insatiable appetite for Western brands that appears to dominate the domestic market. This appears to be a uniquely Chinese phenomenon unlike other transitional economies. The controversy surrounding DaVinci Furniture serves to highlight this aspect of Chinese consumer behavior.

DaVinci Furniture was established in Singapore in 1994 and branched out into China in 1998, eventually becoming the country's largest dealer in luxury furniture. The company has now been accused of selling fake Italian furniture, which it denies. In a recent interview, DaVinci's chief executive Doris Phua said she would compensate customers 10 times the price of a product if it can be proved that it was made in China, exported to Italy and then re-exported to China.

The point here is not whether products sold by DaVinci are Italian fakes but that most Chinese consumers are not bothered about the genuineness of a product as long as it can impress people around them, that is, colleagues, friends and family.