A woman walks past the Gucci store window at the Via Montenapoleone fashion district, during Milan’s fashion week in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File) MILAN — The post-pandemic surge in global sales of luxury handbags, shoes, and apparel is set to stall this year amid a creativity crisis and price hikes as brands shift focus to the biggest spending customers, a new study by the Bain consultancy said Tuesday.
Bain is forecasting flat worldwide luxury sales in 2024 following a slight first-quarter dip, according to the study commissioned by the Altagamma association. The consultancy cited political uncertainty during a presidential election year in the United States as well as economic uncertainty in China that has brought on a phenomenon of “luxury shaming.” Beyond socioeconomic factors and rising geopolitical tensions, the slowdown is also partly “self-inflicted,’’ said Bain partner Claudia D’Arpizio.
She cited a “creativity crisis,’’ in the sector, as several major fashion houses are transitioning creative directors, and a new focus on the super-wealthy customers, at the expense of the aspirational middle class and Gen-Z youngsters who fueled growth before the pandemic. “There is a lack of clarity for many of these brands. They are making attempts to regain focus.
It is five, six brands under turn-around, big ones. This is not helping the overall excitement,’’ D’Arpizio told The Associated Press. “This is a supp.