Walpole, the UK’s alliance of luxury brands, today released a report by Frontier (Europe) analysing the sector’s contribution to the UK economy. The sector includes, amongst others, high-end designer clothing, fine wines, jewellery and watches, hotels and car manufacturing.
The report indicates that sales for the luxury sector in 2013 amounted to around £32.2 billion, equivalent to roughly 2% of UK GDP. An estimated 113,000 people are employed directly or indirectly by the luxury sector; this is estimated to grow to between 158,000 and 177,000 by 2019 . Taken collectively, the luxury sector represents one of the success stories of the UK economy, growing at a little under 8% a year since 2010.
The report also identifies a number of indirect contributions made by the luxury sector, through investment in developing of upstream skills, and a track record of innovation and links to other sectors, notably the tourism industry.
Frontier (Europe) regularly advises clients on issues relating to international trade, intellectual property and economic growth.
For more information, please contact Goran Serdarevic on g.serdarevic@frontier-economics.com, or call +44 (0)20 7031 7000.