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South Korea Rises in World Luxury Sales Rankings

Pedestrians wearing face masks walk through Seoul's Myeongdong shopping district. Getty Images. (ED JONES)

Zoe Suen

21 April 2021

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.

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