Luxury goods company sales rebound to beat pre-pandemic levels—Deloitte Global report finds 73 of the Top 100 luxury goods companies reported sales growth in FY2021

The world’s Top 100 luxury goods companies generated aggregated revenue of US$305 billion in financial year 2021, representing a composite year-on-year increase of 21.5%, according to the 2022 edition of Deloitte's Global Powers of Luxury Goods.

As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, luxury goods companies are now presented with new opportunities arising from the “green transition” and progress toward a circular economy. Additionally, the ongoing digital revolution of the metaverse and Web3 is driving innovation and disruption in the luxury industry. The metaverse gives luxury companies an unprecedented opportunity to re-invent the luxury experience, build credibility, brand engagement, and brand loyalty. Consumers are now able to interact with brands’ products and their essence in new ways through the digital reality.

“Although the global economic landscape presents many challenges, the appeal of the personal luxury goods sector consolidated over the past years. The sector is reinventing itself and has started a considerable transformation process, incorporating concepts such as sustainability, circular economy, innovation, straight to the core of companies’ growth strategies, shaping a completely new competitive scenario,” says Giovanni Faccioli, Fashion & Luxury Practice Co-Leader, Deloitte Italy. “Today luxury goods companies highly value consumers’ demand by sharing their values and ethics, and thanks to this new approach they can serve their customers better in terms of service, production and communication.”

Tianbing Zhang, Deloitte APAC Consumer Product and Retail Sector Leader adds, "There were 11 companies from China in the Top 100, two more than in last year’s report. Both Chinese companies that made the Top 10 are jewelry and watches brands, with growth mainly driven by new store openings as travel restrictions compelled local consumers to make their jewelry purchases in their home market. Moreover, China is currently the largest market for pre-owned watches. With consumers attaching greater importance to sustainability and recyclability, Chinese luxury companies can create a new paradigm of conceiving luxury by following ESG standards to apply the concept of being 'sustainable through design', while leveraging metaverse to enable a more eco-friendly and creative luxury experience."

Global Powers of Luxury Goods Top 100

The world’s Top 100 luxury goods companies generated revenue of US$305 billion in FY2021, rebounding from US$252 billion in the previous year, and exceeding US$281 billion in FY2019 (before the impact of the pandemic).

The composite performance of the Top 100 companies in FY2021 reflects a rebound (an increase of 21.5% year-on-year) as the impact of the pandemic lessened, with store re-openings and recovery in consumer demand. Seventy-three of the Top 100 companies reported growth in luxury goods sales in FY2021, compared to only 20 companies in FY2020.

Nearly 85% of FY2021 net profit for the Top 100 companies came from the Top 10 global luxury companies—which are leaders in both luxury goods sales and profitability.

In FY2021, the minimum revenue threshold required to enter the world’s Top 100 list of luxury goods companies rose to US$240 million, up from US$182 million in FY2020, with an average company size of US$3.0 billion.

While Italy (with 23 companies) has the highest number of luxury goods companies, the eight French companies in the ranking contributed the largest share (more than one-third) to the Top 100 luxury goods sales in FY2021.

M&A activity took off again in 2021 and 2022 after a hiatus during the pandemic. As companies refocused on their core luxury brands and sought to enhance profitability and financial stability, there were also some major disposals of non-core businesses to consumer goods and private equity companies.

“The future of the luxury goods industry will be greener and more inclusive. The most successful companies in this sector will continue progressing toward a circular economic model and responsible business,” says Karla Martin, Fashion & Luxury Practice Co-Leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “Sustainability will continue to be a priority while embracing innovation and disruption. The metaverse helps provide luxury companies with another way to be more sustainable in the real world, providing a way to lessen their carbon footprint while allowing consumers the allows consumers to experience brands in multiple ways.”

About Global Powers of Luxury Goods

The report identifies the 100 largest luxury goods companies globally, based on the consolidated sales of luxury goods in FY2021 (for financial years ending within the 12 months from 1 January to 31 December 2021) using publicly available data, and evaluates their performance across geographies and product sectors. It also discusses the key trends shaping the luxury market.

To find out more, read our full report and the report highlights.