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European luxury sector thrives despite wider downturn（352 words）
By Kadhim Shubber December 9, 2014 5:09 am
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The European luxury sector has shaken off the wider economic downturn as the number of people employed making high-end cars, wines and clothing rose 11 per cent between 2010 and 2013.
A new report from consultants Frontier Economics, commissioned by the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance trade body, suggests that the luxury sector added more than 100,000 jobs in the period and now directly employs about 1.1m people in Europe.
The figures come as luxury retailers have warned of slowing sales growth in Asia, particularly China. Consumer confidence in the world’s second-largest economy has softened and new anti-corruption legislation has depressed demand for luxury goods as business gifts. Last month Rémy Cointreau reported a 14.6 per cent like-for-like fall in half-year operating profit, amid its heavy exposure to the slowing Chinese market.
But according to Harrods’ boss Michael Ward, who is also president of the ECCIA, the slowdown is a positive sign for the wider industry.
“We have seen a slowdown in spend from the Chinese. But in fairness it’s actually the right thing, a lot of it was in gift-giving. A lot of it was in expensive watches and expensive wines. That market has now cooled and it has moved back to core demand,” he said.
The report suggests that Europe’s luxury sector has thrived despite problems in the rest of the economy. From 2010 to 2013, Europe’s luxury goods sales, including high-end cars, wines and clothing, grew almost 28 per cent to
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