The personal luxury goods sector continues to expand, registering 6% growth in 2018

The global personal luxury goods market grew by 6% in 2018 to reach a total turnover of €260 billion out of a total luxury goods sector worth €1.2 trillion (+5%).

According to estimates published by Fondazione Altagamma, the segment is set to continue its growth trend of around 3-5% per year and reach a turnover of €320-365 billion in 2025.

Demand will largely be driven by Chinese consumers, who are expected to account for a 45% share of the market (compared to 32% in 2018) and to make half of their luxury goods purchases in the domestic market. In 2018, sales of luxury goods in China grew by 18% to €23 billion, closely followed by Japan with €22 billion. In general, retail sales in Asia grew by 7% to €39 billion. Europe remained essentially stable with a turnover of €84 billion (+1%), while the Americas saw 5% growth to €80 billion.

Analysing the various channels, the lion’s share went to e-commerce with €27 billion (+22%), headed by the USA with around 44% of the total. Online purchases consist mainly of accessories, followed by clothing, cosmetics, perfumes, jewellery and watches. The retail and wholesale channels experienced much smaller growth, +4% and +1% respectively. E-commerce currently accounts for 10% of the sector’s sales, a figure that is expected to rise to 25% by 2025.