Luxury Sales Are Slowing Around the World. This Country’s Outlook Bucks the Trend.

Japan is still the land of rising fortunes for luxury-goods companies, even as trendsetters elsewhere have pulled back on purchases of expensive designer goods. Analysts say the outlook for Japanese domestic demand is as promising as it has been in years, due to gains in real wages and a strong stock market, which have encouraged spending.

Japan is still the land of rising fortunes for luxury-goods companies, even as trendsetters elsewhere have pulled back on purchases of expensive designer goods. Analysts say the outlook for Japanese domestic demand is as promising as it has been in years, due to gains in real wages and a strong stock market, which have encouraged spending.

The Japanese luxury market got a boost earlier this year from a weakening yen and hordes of Chinese tourists, although both trends have since reversed. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton blamed a 2% decline in third-quarter revenue on “lower growth seen in Japan,” while rival Kering called out Japan in particular, and the Asia-Pacific region generally, for “the bulk of” its sales slowdown in the period.