"Maybe there were three stores ... furniture and tableware to jewellery, clothing and furs directly to representatives in Milan, Paris, London," he told AFP. Given the huge demand for luxury ...

These immersive retail experiences are all over the English city—and they’re padding luxury stores’ bottom lines ... live in London,” a manager told me when I visited.

In the Russian capital's exclusive shopping quarters, department stores and high-end Russian outlets are doing a roaring trade in Western sports cars, gold jewellery and designer clothes.