South Korea’s luxury goods market, estimated at around $7.1 billion, is experiencing a surge in demand led by affluent consumers in their 40s and 50s. Some renowned luxury brands will launch new stores in Korea to take advantage of the continued market boom.
The sales growth of luxury goods in Korea’s three largest department stores – Shinsegae Department Store, Hyundai Department Store Co. and Lotte Department Store – exceeded the upscale shopping centers’ average revenue growth of 2.6% for the first half of this year.
Shinsegae’s sales growth in luxury goods was 11.8% from January to June, compared with 7.9% in the same period of last year.
Hyundai posted 10.1% in the first-half revenue growth, up from 8.3% from a year earlier.
Lotte maintained 5% for the first half, according to industry officials on Tuesday. “In the luxury goods market, demand doesn’t easily drop once it surges,” said a retail industry official. “Although the sales growth is lower than 20%-30% in 2022 when shoppers rushed to revenge spending, consumers with purchasing power buy luxury goods as the demand has recovered since the end of last year,” the official added.
Korea's luxury goods market is projected to reach $7.1 billion this year with an annual growth rate of 4.42% from 2024 to 2028, according to Statista.
As an increasing number of luxury brands seek to open or expand their businesses in Cheongdam-dong in southern Seoul, an upscale neighborhood with global high-end brands su.