That’s it! Thank you Callistemon!
A pp mentioned Chinese people being enamoured of designer labels, perhaps especially bags. I have a Singaporean-Chinese SiL who visits regularly, and usually takes herself to Bicester discount village, which she says is invariably full of coach loads of mainland Chinese tourists. (I’ve read recently that it’s eerily quiet at the moment, no prizes for guessing why.)
SiL will typically buy designer bags, claim the duty back at the airport, and sell most of them on in Singapore, where such things are both sought-after and considerably more expensive.