Global demand for luxury goods continues to drive the worldwide market which, by 2019, is predicted to be worth $405billion.
Figures from market research company, Euromonitor International, point to the current $339billion trade in luxury goods increasing by nearly 20% in the next five years.
The US is still the world’s biggest luxury goods market worth $78billion, with growth of $18billion over the past five years. Fflur Roberts, head of luxury goods at Euromonitor International, commented: “No other market came even close to that growth. However, this impressive growth fizzled out towards the end of the review period, leading many luxury brands to question their strategy for China and other emerging markets.”
The report showed that despite Asia’s slowing growth on the back of China’s repositioning, Japan’s luxury market is witnessing a long-awaited revival thanks to its favourable exchange rates, while income inequality is beefing up spending by the higher-income segments in smaller Southeast Asian and Sub-Saharan African countries.
The Chinese market managed five-year growth of $9.6 billion until 2014 but Euromonitor International’s research has led to a prediction that the country will slump from third to fourth place in global consumption of luxury goods this year, with growth of just 4%, rising to 6% next year.
However the data suggests that the Chinese luxury goods market will increase by 52% over the next five years, eventually overtaking Japan as the second biggest luxury goods market worldwide in 2019.
India remains the fastest growing market in the world having increased its real market value by a real 92% in the last five years while the luxury jewellery and timepieces category grew by 25% in the five years to 2014.
