Luxury brands are down bar two

Women walk past a Louis Vuitton store in Macau. The company was one of only two luxury brands to increase in value in the last financial year. Photo: Bloomberg

Women walk past a Louis Vuitton store in Macau. The company was one of only two luxury brands to increase in value in the last financial year. Photo: Bloomberg

Published May 28, 2015

Share

Andrew Roberts Paris

Louis Vuitton and Chanel were the only big luxury brands to increase in value last year as the industry grappled with slowing sales in China and Russia, research company Millward Brown said yesterday in the 2015 BrandZ study.

Vuitton gained 6 percent to $27.4 billion (R328.8bn), placing LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s biggest brand atop the luxury ranking for the 10th straight year.

Chanel’s value rose 15 percent to $9bn, propelling it to fourth in the list behind second-place Hermes and Kering’s Gucci.

Declined

The value of the top 10 luxury-goods brands – based on interviews with more than three million consumers and an analysis of companies’ performance – fell 6 percent, or $7.1bn, to $105bn as companies from Prada to Cartier declined.

Spending on lavish gifts had fallen in China as the government clamped down on corruption, while Russia’s shoppers were suffering from the rouble’s depreciation and sanctions tied to the conflict in Ukraine, Millward Brown said.

At the same time, efforts to appear more exclusive had created opportunities for cheaper brands, such as Michael Kors and Tiffany, which finished in the top ten for the first time, the researcher said.

Chanel, the maker of No 5 perfume, and handbag purveyor Vuitton fared better than their peers thanks to their unique approach, according to Elspeth Cheung, Millward Brown’s global BrandZ valuation director.

Chanel has harmonised prices across regions, encouraging more in-store consumption, Cheung said.

And Vuitton had successfully revitalised its brand with a fresh take on its original LV monogram.

The worst performers were Cartier, whose value decreased 15 percent to $7.6bn, placing it sixth, while Prada slumped 35 percent to $6.5bn, according to the study.

Hermes’s value fell 13 percent to $18.9bn and Gucci declined 14 percent to $13.8bn, according to the study. Rolex fell 6 percent to $8.5bn, placing it fifth.

Rounding out the top 10 most valuable luxury brands were Burberry in eighth, and newcomers Michael Kors and Tiffany.

The luxury ranking is part of a broader study commissioned by WPP, the advertising-company parent of Millward Brown. – Bloomberg

Related Topics: