Luxury resumes growth, but the boom years remain elusive(2026)

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Luxury resumes growth, but the boom years remain elusive

After years of slowdown, sales at the luxury heavyweights rebounded in the first half of the year, driven in particular by the United States and a slight improvement in China, though they have not yet returned to the highs of the post-Covid period

The sector’s global leader, LVMH, announced on Monday that its half-year turnover was up 2% on a like-for-like basis, with growth accelerating in the second quarter. Hermès posted stronger growth, with sales rising by more than 6% (excluding currency effects). Like its rival, the creator of the famous Birkin bag saw momentum pick up in the second quarter

Kering, which has suffered in recent years from a decline in the appeal of its flagship brand Gucci, also reported slight growth in the second quarter- for the first time in two years. This was enough to send its share price soaring in the immediate aftermath

While the conflict in the Middle East has continued to weigh on spending, consumers nevertheless appear to be finding their way back to luxury boutiques. According to consultancy Bain & Company, the luxury market lost 20 million customers between 2024 and 2025, having already shed 50 million in previous years. The key factors include price rises, concerns about product quality and a slowdown in the Chinese market

To return to growth in the first half, companies were able to rely in particular on strong results in the United States, underpinned by resilient financial markets and wealth generated among affluent clients

They are also beginning to reap the benefits of measures introduced in response to the slowdown, particularly those aimed at retaining their so-called ‘aspirational’ clientele- not among the ultra-rich but essential to sales volumes

“Anomaly”

“Companies that are able to ‘engage’ middle-class customers- the ‘aspirational’ clientele- are doing better,” Luca Solca, an industry specialist at Bernstein, told AFP. “Because there really are many ‘luxury orphans’- people who want to buy but cannot afford to

Changes in creative leadership are also beginning to bear fruit, groups in the sector say. At LVMH, “the acceleration in growth in the second quarter stems in particular from the huge success of Jonathan Anderson’s first collections for Christian Dior,” the group stated

“Fashion is rebounding thanks to a creative revival led by a generation of new creative directors- Michael Rider at Celine, Sarah Burton at Givenchy, Maria Grazia Chiuri at Fendi. The fashion houses are returning to the fundamentals- product, creation, and experience,” Christophe Caïs, head of the luxury consultancy CXG, told AFP

In the first half of the year, companies in the sector also reported a resurgence of interest in China, long a highly buoyant market, before the slowdown in the country’s economic growth began to weigh. But will this lead to a return to the breakneck growth rates of a few years ago? Experts are sceptical, particularly as the Chinese market has not regained its former momentum

Hermès executive chairman Axel Dumas acknowledged, during the presentation of the group’s results, that he did not yet see “a fundamental rebound” in the region, referring to “a stable situation” but without yet regaining the momentum of the past

“The sector will not return to the double-digit growth rates of 2021–2023, and that is healthy. Those years were a post-Covid anomaly, fuelled by accumulated savings and price inflation. What we are seeing now is a return to a regime of ‘earned’ rather than ‘given’ growth,” says Christophe Caïs

FASHIONNETWORK.COM