China Luxury Market Expected To Grow Up To 22 Percent In 2012
Louis Vuitton opened its first mainland China Maison in Shanghai last week
Following up strong earnings results from Hermès — which recently reported a 13.4 percent rise in Q2 2012 sales led by a 26.9 percent sales increase in the Asia-Pacific region — and Remy Cointreau (which saw a 24.4 percent increase in revenue, driven by cognac demand in Asia and the United States), French luxury giants LVMH, PPR and L’Oreal this week reported double-digit growth that defied observer fears of a significant China slowdown. Via Bloomberg:
In the second half of this year, all eyes are on LVMH and its many brands — not least of which its flagship Louis Vuitton, which just opened its first mainland China Maison in Shanghai to great fanfare — as well as PPR and Richemont, to see if continued China expansion and a slowdown in Hong Kong’s once-red-hot-and-now-just-simmering high-end market will ultimately bite into year-end profits. For Burberry’s part, despite disappointing sales figures in the first quarter of this year, the British brand’s massive expenditure on improving existing spaces not only within China, but in the kinds of destinations frequented by wealthy Chinese tourists, means there’s reason for optimism. Burberry has been far more successful in the digital realm in China than any other brand with the possible exception of Louis Vuitton, and its global flagships in New York, Hong Kong and London remain shopping meccas for globetrotting Chinese.