Executive summary

The Top 5 companies saw their luxury goods sales rebound in FY2021, as operations recovered from the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer demand, retail, and supply chains. Many of them reported sales above their pre-pandemic levels, driven partly by increasing e-commerce sales and the re-opening of physical stores.

This article is a preview of the Top 5 companies which will be listed in the upcoming Global Powers of Luxury Goods 2022. The full report, which will be published in late 2022, will include a full analysis of the Top 100 companies, as well as luxury trends and special focus sections.

The Top 5 story: Key findings

• The Top 5 companies are the powerhouses of global personal luxury goods brand sales, contributing nearly 40% of the sales value, and 70% of the net profits, out of the Top 100 luxury goods companies.
• They have grown rapidly, with sales nearly doubling in the past five years, through organic growth and acquisitions.
• This is despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – luxury goods sales rebounded in FY2021, driven by store re-openings, strong ecommerce growth and normalizing consumer demand.
• The Top 5 companies have been relatively stable over the last five years, with only L'Oréal Luxe entering the Top 5, replacing Richemont.¹
• LVMH is the clear luxury leader, contributing 44.9% of Top 5 sales in FY2021. The company’s personal luxury goods sales have more than doubled over the last five years..
• Three of the Top 5 companies are based in France.

Source: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. Global Powers of Luxury Goods 2022. Analysis of financial performance and operations for financial years ended through 31 December 2021 using company annual reports, industry estimates and other sources.

1 Richemont’s FY2021 financial year ended in March 2021, so saw a greater negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their FY2021 results compared with other Top 5 companies which had later year end dates. Luxury goods sales growth for the year ended March 2022 for Richemont was 50.1%.

Top 5 Five-year view

The composite luxury goods sales of the Top 5 companies grew by 91% over the five years FY2016-FY2021. The luxury goods sales of the top two companies in FY2021 was more than the total luxury goods sales of the Top 5 in FY2016. Both LVMH and Kering have seen their luxury goods sales more than double. Luxury goods leader LVMH increased its share of the Top 5 from 39.1% in FY2016 to 44.9% in FY2021. Beauty companies Estée Lauder and L’Oréal Luxe have seen slower growth in the sales of their owned and licensed luxury goods brands than multiple luxury goods companies LVMH, Kering and Chanel.

The companies making up the Top 5 have been relatively stable, with only L’Oréal Luxe entering the Top 5, replacing Richemont^*

Chart 1: Luxury goods sales US$ million: FY2016 & FY2021

Top 5 COVID-19 pandemic rebound

All of the Top 5 companies saw their luxury goods sales rebound in FY2021, as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer demand, retail and supply chain constraints reduced. Many reported sales above pre-pandemic levels, driven mainly by store re-openings, strong ecommerce growth and normalizing consumer demand for their luxury brands.

Chart 2: Luxury goods sales YoY growth FY2019-FY2021

About the Global Powers of Luxury Goods report

This article is a preview of the Top 5 companies listed in the upcoming Global Powers of Luxury Goods 2022, which will be published in late 2022. In addition to exploring the trends impacting the luxury goods market, the report will identify the hundred largest personal luxury goods companies (owned or licensed luxury brands). Their performance across geographies and product sectors is based on publicly available data for FY2021 (which we define as financial years ending within the 12 months from 1 January to 31 December 2021). A new section in this year's report will focus on circularity strategies and the secondary/resell market, which has become increasingly important in the luxury sector. As in last year’s report, there will be a section on the impact of COVID-19 on financial results.