In a blog posted on Friday 19th Feb 2010, I predicted that Europe would be in for a difficult time, especially in comparison with the surging economies of India, China etc. In fact the confidence issues that were the central theme of this blog have turned out to be an even more headline grabbing sovereign debt crisis than I had imagined and the Euro (and Sterling) look as though they will both be in the sick bay for quite a while.
This said, let’s not forget that Europe is still the preferred destination of most tourists and the European luxury brands have a heritage and prestige that is unmatched.
The increasing prosperity of Asia, Latin America and hopefully in time Africa will ensure that European luxury goods sales will continue to grow significantly, marketed as they are with extraordinary passion and creativity. These luxury branded products will be as coveted in the shopping malls of Arabia, China and India as they came to be in Japan when it began its extraordinary ascent into prosperity in the post war years. Where Europe leads others will follow, giving local and home grown brands the inspiration to develop their own unique propositions. We are already seeing in India how the local jewellery brands tend to be influenced by and emulate European or American brands.
By next year, leading analysts state that China will be the biggest luxury goods market, overtaking Japan. There is huge demand in China for the priciest watches and jewellery, not to mention designer clothing. Luxury goods companies have noticeably outperformed the wider European market since the financial crisis helped now by a weaker Euro and a boom in Asian emerging market demand. In France, Chinese tourists last year surpassed all other nationalities, including Russians, as the biggest shoppers according to a recent French government survey. China imported more than 10 million cases of French wine last year, 50% up on 2008 with Hong Kong fine wines auctions now becoming as important as those in London. But don’t let’s write off London either, Louis Vuitton has just opened a £45m store in Bond Street, which remains arguably the most luxurious street in the world.
Maybe Europe needed a good kick up the Eurozone and the Europeans will again surprise everyone (including themselves!) by rising to the occasion both as individual countries and collectively, even in Britain a country known for its Euroscepticism, the new coalition government seems to be engaging with other European nations in a constructive spirit.
This said, let’s not forget that Europe is still the preferred destination of most tourists and the European luxury brands have a heritage and prestige that is unmatched.
The increasing prosperity of Asia, Latin America and hopefully in time Africa will ensure that European luxury goods sales will continue to grow significantly, marketed as they are with extraordinary passion and creativity. These luxury branded products will be as coveted in the shopping malls of Arabia, China and India as they came to be in Japan when it began its extraordinary ascent into prosperity in the post war years. Where Europe leads others will follow, giving local and home grown brands the inspiration to develop their own unique propositions. We are already seeing in India how the local jewellery brands tend to be influenced by and emulate European or American brands.
By next year, leading analysts state that China will be the biggest luxury goods market, overtaking Japan. There is huge demand in China for the priciest watches and jewellery, not to mention designer clothing. Luxury goods companies have noticeably outperformed the wider European market since the financial crisis helped now by a weaker Euro and a boom in Asian emerging market demand. In France, Chinese tourists last year surpassed all other nationalities, including Russians, as the biggest shoppers according to a recent French government survey. China imported more than 10 million cases of French wine last year, 50% up on 2008 with Hong Kong fine wines auctions now becoming as important as those in London. But don’t let’s write off London either, Louis Vuitton has just opened a £45m store in Bond Street, which remains arguably the most luxurious street in the world.
Maybe Europe needed a good kick up the Eurozone and the Europeans will again surprise everyone (including themselves!) by rising to the occasion both as individual countries and collectively, even in Britain a country known for its Euroscepticism, the new coalition government seems to be engaging with other European nations in a constructive spirit.
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