Luxury Society & Digital Luxury Group present The WorldHandbagReport™, the industry’s first global analysis of the luxury handbag market
CONSUMERS
Key Insights from The WorldHandbagReport™
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Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.
PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.
In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris
Luxury Society & Digital Luxury Group present The WorldHandbagReport™, the industry’s first global analysis of the luxury handbag market
Luxury Society & Digital Luxury Group present The WorldHandbagReport™, the industry’s first global analysis of the luxury handbag market
This past July, Digital Luxury Group and Luxury Society released a preliminary analysis of the luxury handbag industry entitled the WorldLuxuryIndex™Handbags.
Given the importance of this product category to the overall luxury goods industry an opportunity arose to extend the initial research into a full-fledged study, The WorldHandbagReport™.
The research measures and benchmarks over 50 unique indicators to analyse the performance of more than 120 luxury handbag brands across ten international markets.
The report identifies and analyses over 120 million handbag-related search queries typed into major global search engines and translates them into the client preferences driving the industry.
“ The report analyses over 120 million handbag-related search queries typed into major global search engines ”
European Brands Dominate China
China is the country representing the 3rd largest volume of luxury handbag searches, affirming its position as a global luxury leader, despite a reported slowing.
Fueling Chinese consumer demand for handbags are the major European players such as Chanel, Gucci, and Hermès. In fact, 9 out of the top 10 top brands in China are of European heritage
The most searched-for luxury handbag brands worldwide
Surprises at Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton attracts an impressive 15% of global search, with most of the interest coming from the US and France.
Surprisingly, Louis Vuitton does not succeed in obtaining top position in the major Asian markets of China and Japan in spite of the brand being synonymous with luxury handbags amongst consumers in the region.
One factor that may explain this, in Japan at least, is the fact that 85% of Japanese women already own something from the brand.
“ Louis Vuitton does not succeed in obtaining top position in China or Japan ”
Hermès Reigns
The iconic Birkin bag from Hermès, has enraptured the world since 1984 when it was first introduced and reigns as handbag queen.
Not far behind, ranking 3rd after Longchamp’s Le Pliage, is Céline’s Luggage which has skyrocketed to fame as an “It” bag upon its introduction in 2010 and which continues to be seen on the arms of fashion editors and fashionistas the world over.
The relative number of handbag searches by market
After Brand Comes Style
After searches for specific branded collections and models, handbag style searches represent the 2nd largest category of luxury handbag interest.
Within the specific styles analyzed, the “tote” captures 32% of all style-related searches, followed by the “clutch” at 15%. Of note is the even higher popularity of clutches in the BRIC markets.
The WorldHandbagReport™ measures and benchmarks over 50 unique indicators to analyse the performance of more than 120 luxury handbag brands across ten international markets.
The report identifies and analyses over 120 million handbag-related search queries typed into major global search engines and translates them in the client preferences driving the industry.
MEMBER OFFER
Luxury Society members benefit from a preferential rate of €9,500 (instead of €12,500) for the full edition of the WorldHandbagReport™ when ordered prior to December 31, 2012. Use offer code LUXSOC when ordering online.
For more information on the WorldHandbagReport™, please visit worldhandbagreport.com. More detailed data and analysis on a particular segment or brand is available upon request.
For any further enquiries regarding the index or research, please contact Eric Roditi of Digital Luxury Group, [email protected]
Creative Strategist, Digital
Sophie Doran is currently Senior Creative Strategist, Digital at Karla Otto. Prior to this role, she was the Paris-based editor-in-chief of Luxury Society. Prior to joining Luxury Society, Sophie completed her MBA in Melbourne, Australia, with a focus on luxury brand dynamics and leadership, whilst simultaneously working in management roles for several luxury retailers.
