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Summary of our market study
French consumption of ceramics is estimated at around 500 million euros.
The global porcelain tableware market is worth over $25 billion.
European regulation 1935/2004 guarantees that the materials used in porcelain do not compromise consumer health, and customs duties of 17.9% have been introduced to protect the market.
Demand for porcelain in France
Consumption of ceramic tableware is tending to slow down.
Porcelain is a symbol of luxury and tradition. It is a niche market. Limoges porcelain is world-renowned for its quality. The value of French production of Limoges porcelain tableware is estimated at around €100 million.
Fewer and fewer French families are gathering around the dinner table.
French preferences are shifting towards practicality and modern aesthetics. People over 55 continue to use porcelain tableware for special occasions (around 25%). Less than 15% of 24-34 year-olds own special-occasion crockery.
Counterfeit products are very present on the market.
Colored porcelain accounts for 80% of sales, while white porcelain represents only around 20%.
The French porcelain industry faces stiff international competition, particularly from Asia. The number of employees in the sector is steadily declining.
The prestigious craftsmen of French porcelain
In the landscape of French luxury and artisan heritage, several names stand out as standard-bearers of porcelain excellence.
- Bernardaud: A beacon of porcelain innovation, Bernardaud's foundations were laid in 1863. The brand is recognized worldwide.
- Royal Limoges: Considered the oldest porcelain house, Royal Limoges was founded in 1797. It has the last large round kiln in France, uses driftwood to heat its kilns and operates its own kaolin quarries.
- Haviland: Founded in 1842, market leader in decorative table porcelain.
- Jacques Pergay: A relatively young player in Limoges porcelain, founded in 1993.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Introduction and scope of study
Porcelain is a fine, translucent ceramic produced from kaolin by firing at over 1200°C. The primary use of porcelain is for tableware. There are two main types of porcelain: hard and soft. Advanced porcelain manufacturing techniques arrived late in France (19th century), although they were already present in China in the 17th century. Nevertheless, Limoges porcelain is recognized for its quality and is even protected by a "geographical indication".
Since 2010, the number of employees in the French porcelain industry has been steadily declining, reflecting the fact that manufacturing processes are increasingly being outsourced outside France. Sales generated by the porcelain market are being severely tested by the boom in ceramic tableware in China, which is gradually replacing traditional porcelain.
To withstand the crisis, players in the porcelain market are banking on the development of exports, which already account for almost 50% of the sector's sales. However, with changes in Chinese demand, the structure of exports to customer countries has been weakened.
The French porcelain market has to contend with intensifying international competition, particularly from Asia, which is regularly illustrated by the use of counterfeit products. The city of Limoges has taken steps to secure recognition of the brand at national and European level.
List of charts presented in this market study
- Market size for porcelain tableware
- Number of establishments and employees in ceramics and porcelain production
- Value of ceramic production (tableware)
- Value of porcelain production (decoration)
- Porcelain production price trend
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Latest news
Inauguration of a Hermès site in Riom, land of volcanoes - 17/09/2024
- 1. Number of Hermès leather factories in France: 23.
- 2. Frequency of new leather goods factories opened by Hermès: one per year.
- 3. Length of training for a leatherworker at Hermès: 18 months for basic training, and 5 years to master the craft.
- 4. Standard capacity of Hermès leather goods factories: 300 employees, including 260 craftsmen and 40 supervisory and support staff.
- 5. Year Hermès launched its leather goods division: 1923.
- 6. Change in contribution to Hermès sales: initially 55% from silk and 9% from leather goods; today, these percentages are largely reversed.
Hermès continues to raise prices - 09/02/2024
- - Hermès sales in 2023 will be 13.4 billion euros, up 16% on the previous year and 21% at constant exchange rates.
- - Net income is up 28% to 4.3 billion euros.
- - Hermès has a market value of 231 billion euros.
- - Hermès has increased its prices by 8 to 9% in 2023.
- - 22,000 Hermès employees worldwide.
- - More than 60% of new jobs created in France, where Hermès manufactures three quarters of its products.
Bernardeau: Limoges porcelain, the largest industrial sector in the area - 04/09/2023
- Société Bernardaud is Limoges' leading porcelain manufacturer, with 700 employees.
- The Porcelaine de Limoges association includes some 30 manufacturers, whose leaders (Bernardaud, Haviland, Guy Degrenne, Raynaud...) generated sales of over €80 million and over 900 jobs in 2017.
- Bernardaud has embarked on a €10 million multi-year investment plan to double its production.
- The Limoges porcelain sector has grown by 50% in three years.
Hermès, champion of luxury growth - 29/07/2023
Hermès sales growth: 25% in the first half.
Planned openings: four new leather goods stores by 2027.
Luxury: Hermès, the quiet force of luxury gallops on - 28/07/2023
- Hermès sales reached over 6.6 billion euros in the first six months of the year. Sales were up 25%.
- Sales in Asia were up 28%.
- Sales in the United States rose by 20%, in Europe by 22% and in France by 24%.
- Continued rapid growth in Hermès sales, with a particularly strong performance in Asia and in the leather goods market.
Hermès to create a third leather goods factory in the Ardennes, creating 280 jobs by 2027 - 28/04/2023
- Hermès will build a new leather goods factory in Charleville-Mézières, to be operational in 2027.
- 260 craftsmen will exercise their skills in these future workshops.
- The Pôle des maroquineries des Ardennes will employ over 800 craftsmen by 2027.
- The new Charleville-Mézières leatherworks will be Hermès Maroquinerie Sellerie's twenty-sixth production site in France.
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