French companies continue to dominate the luxury market in sales, while Italian companies were the most numerous, also posting the strongest growth over last year. The global luxury industry is relatively resilient, with an average sales growth of 6.8 per cent compared to 2014. This increase in turnover marks a noticeable improvement in growth, too, up 3.7 per cent over the year prior, mainly due to favorable exchange rates.

LVMH is the world’s leading luxury company. The French conglomerate’s portfolio includes Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Céline. The LVMH group alone accounts for more than ten per cent of the total sales of all the top 100 companies.

LVMH is followed by the Swiss group Richemont and the American Estée Lauder. Ralph Lauren is 8th and PVH at the number 10 spot. Other US companies include familiar names like Michael Kors, at position 14 and Coach at 15. Fossil Group is at position 20.

French luxury companies experienced the strongest growth in 2016 at an average rate of 14.9 per cent. They also lead the country ranking in terms of sales with a total turnover of more than five billion dollars, achieved by just ten companies. Moreover, three of the ten largest luxury groups in the world are French (LVMH, Kering, L'Oréal Luxe) and account for more than 75 per cent of the sales of luxury products by companies based in France.

Italy is the leader in terms of the number of companies overall, with 26 Italian firms qualifying. However, their total turnover is only 16 per cent of the sales of all 100 companies. Leading the Italian contingent is Luxottica, followed by Prada and Giorgio Armani. Other new brands, some of which do not have typical luxury profiles, are brands like British labels Barbour, Ted Baker and Charles Tyrwhitt, German brands Marc O'Polo and Marc Cain, and French label SMCP (Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot).