Fast-growing luxury goods sales in China will return the industry to growth next year, while the decline in 2009 will be less severe than expected, according to a study published yesterday.
Bain & Co, the consult-ancy, expects luxury goods sales this year to fall 8 per cent – instead of the 10 per cent forecast in April – and grow 1 per cent next year to €153bn ($228bn), after two years of contraction.
Claudia D'Arpizio, Milan-based Bain & Co partner, said the bottom had been reached: “ . . . markets are stabilising. We are seeing less discounting and markdowns and more signs of increasing consumer confidence. Growth will be timid in 2010 but it's movement in the right direction.”