Luxury sector getting back on track

Leading international luxury brands have posted strong growth, boosted by a recovering Chinese luxury market in the first quarter, with more new stores and upgraded digital experiences from luxury houses attracting a rising number of local mid-to-high income consumers.

LVMH, the world's leading luxury products group with 75 brands under its umbrella, said first-quarter sales grew 14 percent in Asia, excluding Japan, compared with an 8 percent decline in the fourth quarter last year. The group said it expects China to drive growth in 2023.

Hermes Group said its first quarter has seen its Asia market, excluding Japan, grow 23 percent. It has pursued strong momentum in the Chinese market and across the region.

In January, Hermes' Nanjing store in Jiangsu province reopened at a new address after renovation and expansion. On April 17, the company opened its newly renovated and expanded store in the historic Peninsula Hotel in Beijing, site of the Parisian house's first store on the Chinese mainland, which opened in 1997.

"Now one of 27 Hermes stores in the country, including three in Beijing, the redesign is testament to the house's long-standing history and confidence in the Chinese market," said the company.

This January, British luxury brand Burberry launched its store in SKP shopping mall in Chengdu, Sichuan province, followed by the opening of its refurbished store in Taikoo Li shopping center in the same city on March 30. In the first half of next year, Burberry's first boutique store will open in Hainan province. The brand owned 84 stores on the Chinese mainland as of the end of March.

To attract technology-savvy consumers in China, Burberry has developed a WeChat mini program to unlock personal online shopping experiences as they have discovered 80 percent of consumers in China have visited online stores before making purchases.

Josie Zhang, president of Burberry China, said: "We are seeing strong momentum coming back in the first quarter in the Chinese market, and are encouraged to see a rapid recovery in consumer confidence and foot falls in our stores, reflecting the strength of China's consumer and retail industry.

"Chinese consumers are passionate about fashion. They are digitally savvy, and more eco-conscious than ever before. They are also increasingly turning to innovative products and culturally relevant experiences. All these bring development and growth opportunities for the industry. We have full confidence in the strong resilience and long-term positive fundamentals of the Chinese economy and look forward to its future growth."

According to Bain &Company, a global consultancy, the China luxury market had been on a bull run over the past five years, with the market doubling between 2019 and 2021.

"China is a behemoth for luxury growth," said the Bain report. "It has a larger number of middle- and high-income consumers, and those populations are projected to double by 2030."