We agree, Luxury has just hit the pause button. Here’s the report from Forbes.
Conspicuous consumption isn’t dead, it’s just on hiatus. That’s according to global consulting firm Bain & Company’s Luxury Market Update: 2012, which will be released tomorrow. The report, authored by Claudia D’Arpizio, a partner based in the firm’s Milan office, is a study of 220 luxury brands, which includes leather goods, fashion, jewelry, alcohol and cosmetics companies that serve high net worth customers, or those with assets of $1 million or above. The global luxury industry–which has seen steady growth for the last 15 years–contracted by 10% in the first two quarters of 2009 to 153 billion euros (or $215 billion), compared with 170 billion euros ($238 billion) in the first two quarters of 2008. However, D’Arpizio says this decrease does not reflect a permanent change in the spending habits of the luxury consumer. Spending is expected to pick up again in 2011, with a full recovery in 2012. – from Forbes