Luxury goods sellers rebound from a pandemic slump

Article Excerpt

Some of the most prominent luxury goods retailers in the world are held in the iShares MSCI France ETF’s portfolio. LVMH, the largest luxury goods retailer, owns brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moet & Chandon, Krug, and Bulgari. Kering (Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Bottega brands), Hermes, Essilorluxottica (Ray Ban), and L’Oreal are some of the other luxury goods retailers held in the portfolio. Luxury goods retail sales dropped sharply in 2020 with some estimates indicating a 25% decline compared to 2019. The closing of non-essential shopping in many important luxury retail locations as well as the disruption of leisure travel and accompanying duty free sales, contributed to the massive hit to luxury goods sales. With consumers forced to stay at home, online retail sales of luxury goods also increased sharply with an estimated 209% increase compared to the previous year. Still, between 2016-2019, the market for luxury good had been growing at a solid rate of 8% per year; and reached an estimated global annual…