The haute couture market - France

1.1 The global market

Haute couture corresponds to the design and the custom-made artisanal production of very luxurious clothing pieces. The designers in the sector are highly skilled and creative, and the workforce employed has a high level of expertise.

The global luxury market is growing and should remain so in the coming years and sales of ready-to-wear items are growing even if these segments are less dynamic than that of luxury goods

In France, the market for haute couture and luxury ready-to-wear are growing even if forecasts project a slowdown in the coming years. The haute couture and luxury ready-to-wear markets are very competitive concentrated luxury concentrates and dominated by large groups and their brand portfolios, which are international in scope and leaders in the global fashion and luxury market

The growth of these segments is driven by the emergence of large fortunes all over the world and the tourism flows to France and Paris The customers of haute couture houses are individuals, who are part of a very limited clientele mostly female. There are an increasing number of Asian, Gulf and Russian ( Pluto Magazine )

Fashion Network states that this activity is generally unprofitable, even loss-making but it allows large companies to present their expertise on the occasion of parades in order to benefit from a international notoriety . The major haute couture brands derive most of their profits from their diversification activities

As indicated by Bathtub the global luxury market as a whole (personal property and luxury experiences) increased by 5% in 2018 to €1200 billion In 2018, the market for luxury personal goods alone reached 260 billion euros . The same source indicates that forecasts up to 2025 are optimistic since, at that time, this market is expected to represent between 320 and 365 billion euros

The graphic the following highlights the increase in the market value of luxury personal goods worldwide between 2010 and 2017. By 2016, this figure had risen to 250 billion euros. It should also be noted that the overall market growth between 2010 and 2016 is 44.5% .

Luxury personal goods are prestigious or exceptional goods whose value is considered expensive for middle-income households, the main characteristic of which is that they are rare (source Repurchase of the credit).

At the level of the global marketplace based on the study "Haute couture et prêt-à-porter de luxe", published by Xerfi, sales of luxury ready-to-wear items increased by more than 3% in 2018 . The study also indicates that the haute couture and ready-to-wear segment is slightly less dynamic than the luxury goods sector as a whole, which should continue to be the case in the coming years. For 2019, it is expected that global growth in sales of luxury ready-to-wear items slowed slightly to 2.5% in value

As explained by Share capital In the luxury and Haute Couture market, growth is driven by volumes sold and not by product prices. This is due to good cost management, collection success, improved productivity and the development of online sales. Indeed, in recent years, prices have not increased significantly.