Global luxury goods market to hit the brakes on growth

The global luxury market showed double digit growth in 2012 but is set to slow to 4-6% by 2015, according to consultant Bain and Company in its Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study, conducted in collaboration with Italian luxury trade body Altagamma.

The worldwide luxury goods market now tops $200bn, and is on track to break the $250bn barrier by 2015. According to Bain, key growth drivers are to include tourists, who are changing their consumption habits, seeking out new destinations such as Dubai, southeast Asia and Australia and are more more informed about the items they purchase.

The sector will also be driven by increasing numbers of ‘HENRYs’ (High Earnings, Not Rich Yet), who outnumber ultra affluent individuals by ten to one. Meanwhile, the rising middle class in emerging countries such as Brazil are to create a “new baby boom-sized generation” for luxury brands to target. Leather goods and other accessories are tipped to continue growing faster than other categories. And cosmetics, although slowing down in mature markets, is expected to continue growing in emerging markets.

In terms of regions, China is to stabilise to an expected 7%, while southeast Asia is set to experience 20% growth. The Americas are also healthy, at 5-7% growth, along with the Middle East and Japan, which is returning to around 5% growth driven by a change in fiscal policy. Growth in Europe, however, is expected to remain slow at 0-2%.