Especially given the shifting sands of the Chinese economy, the Asian garment industry is continually reinventing itself. Analysts are now predicting the continent to commandeer as much as 60 percent of the luxury market, as its domestic appetite for higher-end products swells.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the prime mover behind Asia’s shift to luxury goods is rising household incomes and the rapid expansion of local economies. In a study entitled “Rich Pickings: The Outlook For Luxury Goods in Asia”, analysts predict that the most robust growth will come from China, which will have more than thirteen million households with a disposable income of $150,000 or more by 2030.
India’s future growth will also be central; the study calls it a “key battleground for luxury brands as the retail markets would open up for foreign investments.” The EIU also forecasts that it will boast more than thirty million households with an income that tops $50,000 or more.
Malaysia and Thailand are also expected to become major shopping centers due to their comparatively low import duties on luxury goods.
The notable exception to Asia’s increasing prominence in the luxury goods market is Japan, whose economic underperformance is expected to largely foreclose its participation in the continent’s shift.
