Oil and gas-rich nations with booming tourism markets are outpacing global growth for luxury spending, according to Chalhoub Group, which runs over 750 retail stores with 450 international brands in beauty and fashion.
With the personal luxury market in the GCC growing at double the speed of the global industry and reaching a record $12.5bn by the end of 2023, the industry’s significant growth highlights the region’s robust demand for high-end fashion, luxury watches and jewelery, and prestige beauty cementing the Gulf’s key role in the global luxury landscape.
“The region’s luxury market is expected to continue its impressive growth trajectory, driven by strong macroeconomic fundamentals, a thriving tourism sector, and dynamic consumer behavior with 53% of GCC residents expressing optimism about the state of the economy,” Jasmina Banda, chief strategy officer and SVP fashion JVs at Chalhoub Group, tells WatchPro sister publication Arabian Business.
Swiss watch exports have been shifting since the onset of the pandemic in 2020 away from China and Hong Kong, the top two markets in the world in the late 2010s, towards the United States, which is now close to overtaking China and Hong Kong, combined.
There has also been a dramatic rise in Swiss watch exports to global hubs for tourists and business travelers. Singapore, for example, has seen its consumption of Swiss watches rise by 50% since 2015. The United Arab Emirates is up by 27% between 2021 and 2023. Annual Swiss watch exports to Qatar are up by 41% over the same two-year period.
The positive outlook across Gulf economies is revealed in consumer’s personal finances with 93% claiming to do well financially, Chalhoub research states.