Paris-Based Luxury Powerhouse Reported 25% Rise In Sales In China, Singapore & Hong Kong#
Shifting consumer demand in China and the broader effects of slower economic growth in 2012 may be hurting the likes of Hugo Boss and Burberry, but the Paris-based, family-owned luxury house Hermès continues to cash in on wealthy Chinese shoppers who are now in the grips of "bling fatigue." With a growing number of Chinese luxury consumers moving on from their obsession with logos and towards more understated items, this week Hermès reported a 25 percent rise in sales in mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore, with Europe also showing an impressive 21 percent increase. Hermès' success this year is not entirely unexpected, however, as the brand reported a 13.4 percent rise in Q2 2012 sales earlier this summer, led by a 26.9 percent sales increase in the Asia-Pacific region.
Despite fears of a sharp slowdown in luxury sales in mainland China this year, it seems that demand for more understated labels and items has buoyed some brands while hitting others hard. While Hugo Boss recently reported only a one percent increase in second-quarter sales in China, as Jing Daily noted in July, French luxury giants LVMH, PPR and L’Oreal reported double-digit growth that defied observer fears of a significant China slowdown.