The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Luxury leather goods, jewellery and watches made $12.5 billion in sales in the country last year — roughly in line with the previous year, according to Euromonitor International.
The segment defied a wider slump that saw global sales drop 19 percent last year, KoreaBizWire reports, with sales of the top 10 brands exceeding 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion). The boost meant South Korea’s 2020 luxury sales outpaced those in Germany, making the former the world’s seventh biggest luxury market.
Menswear, in particular, is flourishing. Shinsegae Department Store reported this week that sales of luxury items for men increased 68 percent year-on-year between January 1 and April 16. Its men’s luxury business reported a sales boost of 106 percent and 102 percent for March and April respectively, compared to 93 percent and 79 percent figures for luxury segments aimed at women.
Imran Amed shares his observations from a trip to the wealthy desert metropolis, home to the most lucrative stores for many of the world’s top fashion brands.
Spurred by rapid growth in the pure luxury market, global brands operating in lower-priced segments like contemporary fashion are entering the country or accelerating expansion plans.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features India’s textile industry, Chinese beauty major Yatsen and Ghana’s newest garment factory.
Luxury fashion retailers in the oil-rich African nation keep a low profile to provide a discreet shopping environment for consumers and avoid flaunting the elite nature of their own business.