Gucci China Discounts Prompt Lines as Bagmaker Clears Stock

Gucci is offering discounts of as much as 50 percent in China as the Italian fashion house seeks to clear out merchandise designed by its former creative director, prompting lines of shoppers to form since sunrise.

The sales, which started Wednesday, are a normal end of season practice and unrelated to China’s decision to cut import taxes, a spokesman for Kering SA’s biggest brand said Tuesday. A store assistant at a Gucci outlet in Shanghai’s Pudong financial district, who asked not to be identified, said the sale lasts until next month, but wasn’t sure of the exact date.