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Summary of our market study
The French luxury leather goods market is valued at €4 billion.
from 2020 onwards, the global luxury leather goods market has grown significantly. Leading players such as LVMH, Hermès and Kering dominate the market.
The industry is driven by growing demand from affluent upper-middle-class consumers, particularly in China, and online sales. The second-hand market for luxury goods has grown strongly.
French luxury leather goods benefit from the "Made in France" label, synonymous with quality and expertise.
The French luxury leather goods market: tourism and sustainability
Women represent between 90% and 95% of the market for bags and small luxury leather goods. Total sales have risen from around €2.5 billion to almost €4 billion.
This market is driven by the considerable influx of tourists to France and Paris, whose numbers exceed 90 million. The contribution of Chinese tourists to the French luxury market has been dazzling, with a 35% increase in the value of luxury purchases. Their influence is matched only by that of young buyers, who already hold 35% of the luxury market.
The vegan leather movement, an ethical and environmentally-friendly alternative, is challenging traditional notions of the leather industry and inviting luxury brands to innovate.
The country is highly regarded for its expertise in luxury goods, and around 20% of global consumers consider France to be the leading manufacturer of high-end handbags and shoes.
France is the world's leading producer of luxury goods.
Players in the luxury leather goods industry
- LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) with a portfolio of over a dozen famous brands, including Louis Vuitton, which alone accounts for around 30% of luxury leather goods sales in France
- Hermès, a name that instantly evokes prestige, is renowned for its expertise and the iconic status of its bags such as the Kelly and Birkin,
- Kering is another major group in the luxury landscape, with flagship brands such as Gucci and Saint Laurent s.
- Chanel and its timeless 2.55 handbag
- Prada, with products that reflect an avant-garde aesthetic
- Skilled subcontractors like Thomas Leather Goods are an integral part of the industry.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Presentation
Leather goods refers to the industry of preparing fine leather and producing articles with this same leather, whether they are bags, gloves, belts, or other fashion items. While it is easy to name some of the houses that belong to the world of luxury, it is much less easy to draw a clear line between leather goods as a whole and the so-called luxury leather goods.
According to a a report from the National Leather Council, the leather goods sector as a whole generated a turnover of 3.236 billion Euros in France in 2017, for a sector that includes 448 companies and employs nearly 21,000 people in France.
Moreover, according to Mazars,"made in France" would be particularly sought after in a global luxury leather goods market that grew by 70% between 2003 and 2012.
The luxury leather goods market remains dominated by the main luxury brands, leaving little room for new entrants. The numerous takeovers testify to the growing concentration of the market.
The main source of growth in the market remains China and its upper-middle class with strong purchasing power.
1.2 A growing global market and optimistic professionals
Breakdown of luxury revenues by segment World, ****, % Source: ****
The global luxury market has grown in recent years to reach $**** billion in ****. **% of revenues are for the luxury personal goods segment, which includes luxury leather goods.
Breakdown of luxury personal goods revenue by segment World, ****, % Source: ****
The Luxury Leather Goods segment represents ...
1.3 A fast growing French market
In line with the good figures worldwide, luxury leather goods are doing very well in France.
Evolution of luxury leather goods sales France, ****-*****, million euros Source: ****
Luxury leather goods recorded a strong increase between **** and ****. According to Euromonitor forecasts, this trend is expected to continue: between **** and ****, Euromonitor considers that ...
2 Analysis of the demand
2.1 A demand primarily from women
Distribution of sales of luxury leather bags and small leather goods by gender France, ****, % Source: ****
The demand for luxury leather goods in France is mostly female. Sales of luxury leather bags and small leather goods are mainly aimed at women. The latter accounted for **% of sales in **** and still accounts for ...
2.2 The different consumers
Tourists, especially from China
Luxury leather goods have been able to benefit from an increase in local and especially international purchases. Indeed, France has set new records in terms of tourist arrivals, with over ** million foreign visitors in **** and ****. Among them are Chinese tourists, who now play a key role in ...
2.3 Sustainability criteria: the emergence of veganism
According to a BCG survey, **% of the French consider that their purchasing behavior is influenced by sustainable development criteria. This trend is even stronger among the younger generations. However, the criteria vary according to the age category as illustrated below.
Which sustainability criteria do you value when it comes to buying ...
2.4 The Made-in France label
Made-in-France is a guarantee of quality: consumers associate it with know-how and history.
Which manufacturing country do you consider the best for luxury brands? World, ****, % Source: ****
According to a survey conducted by BCG, France ranks second in terms of recognition of its know-how. Although Italy is considered the best manufacturing country ...
3 Market structure
3.1 At the base of the value chain: the activities around the raw material
Suppliers of raw hides and skins
Companies operating in the leather and raw hide sector are often directly integrated into the slaughterhouses. Their activity depends largely on the economic situation of the agricultural world (***) as well as on the evolution of the national and international leather market.
Evolution of the turnover ...
3.2 French leather goods production concentrated in Ile-de-France and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
In this section, we broaden the scope of the study, and focus not only on luxury leather goods, but leather goods in general and more specifically items manufactured in France (***). The turnover of the French Leather Goods industry amounts to *.* billion euros, up *% from last year in ****. [***] This trend is explained ...
3.3 A concentrated market
Breakdown of the luxury leather goods market share France, ****, % Source: ****
The French market is highly concentrated: indeed, * groups gather **% of the market share. These are LVMH SA, Hermès International SCA and Kering SA. LVMH SA is the leader in this market, with **% of sales, far ahead of Kering SA (***).
While ...
3.4 The distribution of leather goods is marked by the rise of digital technology
Evolution of the distribution of luxury leather goods sales by type of distribution France, ****-****, % Source: ****
It can be seen that the majority of sales are made in stores. Online sales are in the minority, but the share of luxury leather goods sales made online has been growing steadily in recent ...
4 Analysis of the offer
4.1 Price range & auction
Pricing of leather luxury products
Source: ****
Although it is difficult to define a clear boundary between what is luxury and what is not, one great characteristic that is unique to luxury items is that they have no upper price limit. Thus, if we can arbitrarily consider that a luxury handbag starts ...
4.2 Production concentrated on a small number of products
In this section, we broaden the scope of the study, and focus not only on luxury leather goods, but leather goods in general and more specifically on items manufactured in France (***). Billing for leather goods manufactured in France by an establishment or one of its subcontractors amounted to approximately €*.* billion in ...
4.3 The growing importance of the second-hand market
The second-hand market is steadily increasing. Luxury brands of bags and luggage are particularly popular via these channels, with bags accounting for **% of the second-hand market in France and small leather goods accounting for **% of luxury second-hand purchases.
Multiple web platforms promote second-hand items, as illustrated in the chart below:
Platforms ...
4.4 The threat of counterfeiting
European luxury manufacturers lose nearly ** billion euros a year to counterfeiting. [***] This is not only a loss of revenue, but also a loss of direct jobs: legitimate manufacturers need less manpower and as a result, nearly ***,*** jobs are considered directly lost in these sectors across the EU. Specifically, the luxury clothing, ...
5 Regulation
5.1 Regulations
The "leather" denomination
The term leather is protected by French regulations (***), chips or powders of reconstituted leather and even materials derived from bio-manufactured hides can not bear the name leather. The indications "synthetic leather", "reconstituted leather" or "leather of ..." are therefore not legal and have no right to be affixed to ...
6 Positioning of the actors
6.1 Segmentation
- Hermès International
- Prada Groupe
- Chanel
- Michael Kors
- Maroquinerie Auguste Thomas
- Les ateliers d’Armançon
- Les Ateliers de Vitré
- Maroquinerie Pierre Cotte
- Lancel (Piquadro)
- Lancaster Maroquinier
- Farfetch
- Rioland Groupe
- Kering
- Moynat Paris
- Montblanc (Richemont Groupe)
- Jean Rousseau Manufacture
- Fleurus Groupe
- Coach (Tapestry Capri)
- Piquadro
- Partson Groupe
- Jacquemus
- Gucci
- Cartier (Richemont groupe)
- Louis Vuitton Malletier
- Camille Fournet Maroquinerie
- Algo Goyard Maroquinerie
- Goyard (Algo Groupe)
- SIS Maroquinerie Groupe
- Perrin Créations Maroquinier
- Fendi France
- Fendi
List of charts presented in this market study
- Breakdown of luxury personal goods revenues by segment
- Evolution of sales of luxury leather goods
- Top 10 countries in terms of luxury leather goods sales
- Evolution of the sales volume of luxury leather goods
- Luxury leather goods sales volumes by country
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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.
Louis Ferla, the Frenchman who takes the reins of the jewelry icon - 03/07/2024
- Vacheron Constantin: sales of just over 1.1 billion euros.
- - Van Cleef & Arpels: sales in excess of 5 billion euros.
- - Cartier: sales of 8.3 billion euros, up 6% by 2023
Chanel seeks new impetus with the departure of its artistic director - 06/06/2024
- - The Chanel group employs over 36,500 people worldwide.
- - Chanel sales 19.7 billion dollars in 2023
- - Chanel sales rose by +15.8%.
- - In the United States, Chanel sales rose by less than 3% to $3.9 billion.
- - In Asia, Chanel sales rose strongly by 17.7% to $8.4 billion.
- - Chanel's distribution network has doubled over the last five years.
Luxury: Chanel on the right track - 22/05/2024
- - Chanel 2023 annual sales: $19.7 billion (approx. €18.2 billion), an increase of 14.6%.
- - Workforce: 36,500 employees.
- - Number of Chanel boutiques worldwide: over 600.
- - Sales in Asia: $8.4 billion, up 17.7%.
- - Sales in Europe: $4.7 billion.
- - Sales in the United States: $3.9 billion, with growth of less than 3%.
- - Number of Chanel stores in mainland China: 18.
Chanel investe ancora in Italia: nuova giunteria per Gensi Group - 29/02/2024
1. **Investimento Chanel nel Calzaturificio Gensi Group**: - Inaugurazione di un nuovo reparto di giunteria di 3.000 metri quadrati nel sito produttivo di Mosciano Sant'Angelo (Teramo). - Attivazione di 4 nuove linee di produzione da 70 metri ciascuna. - Attualmente, 6 linee di produzione sono in funzione, con un piano di raddoppio nei prossimi 3 anni attraverso l'inserimento di nuove risorse professionali. 2. **Iniziative Aziendali per la Sostenibilità**: - Formazione di 3 gruppi di lavoro dedicati alla sostenibilità ambientale dell'azienda un anno fa. - Riduzione dei consumi energetici e degli scarti di lavorazione. - Avanzamenti nel riciclo e riuso. - Avvio dell'istituto interno di formazione "M'Astri Nascenti" in collaborazione con Arsutoria School, con 60 persone formate fino ad oggi. 3. **Forza Lavoro e Piani di Assunzione**: - Attualmente, l'azienda ha oltre 660 collaboratori, dei quali oltre 120 sono orlatrici. - Sono previste nuove assunzioni per aumentare ulteriormente la forza lavoro. 4. **Produzione Chanel e Supply Chain Italiana**: - Le calzature Chanel sono progettate in Francia ma prodotte in Italia. - Aziende italiane controllate da Chanel implicate nella produzione: Roveda di Parabiago (acquisita nel 1999), Gensi di Giulianova (acquisita nel 2015), e Ballin Shoes (acquisita nel 2020).
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.
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the luxury leather goods market | France
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