Get the latest news and updates from Dawn
European luxury brands have sharpened their focus on the United States, with a surge of store openings and fashion shows to lure a new crop of wealthy shoppers enriched by the AI and tech boom and offset weak consumer confidence in the rest of the world.
After two years of contraction, the luxury goods sector was showing signs of stabilisation until the Iran war that began at the end of February, disrupting travel and denting luxury spending far beyond the Middle East.
And China, the biggest source of luxury sales growth for two decades, is still struggling to tackle deflation and the lingering impacts of a property crisis, so the sector needs rich Americans more than usual.
“The US high-end consumer has been much more resilient than we are seeing elsewhere, especially in Europe,” said Marcus Morris-Eyton, portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein in London, adding that the continued AI rally and healthy wage growth have boosted this cohort of spenders.
