Emerging markets in Asia appear to be pumping up international luxury brands, with China as the prime mover. Burberry, the British name in luxury fashion is making considerable inroads into the Chinese market thanks to the rise of affluent Chinese in recent times. This became clear after like-for-like sales in Burberry stores across the world rose to 14 percent in the last quarter of 2010. Zoom in on China and Burberry’s comparable sales figures rose by more than 30 percent over the same period.
According to Burberry’s estimates, its profits should touch the upper end of analysts’ predictions by the end of this financial year. Outerwear and large leather goods accounted for Burberry’s surge in sales in China over the last three months of 2010. According to retail analysts at Seymour price, Burberry is expected to be the frontrunner in its area, growing twice as fast as other names in the industry.
New markets are emerging and Burberry has already set its sights on a booming China. The company bought out its Chinese trading partner in July last year in a bid to keep a tighter rein on operations there.
It finally seems as though the luxury market is slowly returning to its winning ways as high-end consumers become more financially secure in the post-recession environment. A few days ago, we blogged about how China’s woman millionaires are driving sales of luxury cars. Indeed, China’s booming economy signals good news for many luxury brands that even now are reeling under the after effects of the worldwide recession.
Via: Guardian.co.uk
