Nina Jobst
Research expert covering South Korea
Luxury goods in the UK - statistics & facts
The United Kingdom has contributed some of the classic looks and icons to the luxury goods industry. From the Burberry tartan to the Barbour oilskin jacket, homegrown British luxury brands have set trends and established timeless styles. Compared to mainland Europe's luxury powerhouses such as France, the UK's luxury industry is smaller, but still strong with the luxury fashion segment driving the largest revenues.
The decline of the UK luxury department stores can be attributed to the diminishing appeal of high streets as top shopping destinations. Aware of this fact, some luxury companies have also started integrating online and multichannel strategies into their business. Selfridges is one the more successful heritage brands that managed to forge a strong online presence for themselves, as evidenced by their share of voice among other luxury companies. However, these efforts have yet to yield significant returns.
UK luxury market overview
Some of the world's most iconic luxury houses are domiciled in the UK despite being founded elsewhere. Chanel is perhaps the leading example to this. Founded in Paris but headquartered in London, Chanel is the leading UK-based luxury company in terms of sales revenue. Other pillars of the British luxury scene include Burberry, Mulberry, Jimmy Choo, and Ted Baker. While Burberry has a positive story of bouncing back from the pandemic with increased sales reported in 2023, Ted Baker became one of brands that went bust and the company filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Canada in May 2024.The demise of the luxury department stores
The most popular and well-visited luxury retailers in the United Kingdom are the long-standing, heritage brands such as Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. While some of these brands are still very popular with the public, their sales have been in a decline trend. The high end department store and fashion group Selfridges, for instance, saw a drop of about 40 percent from 2020 to 2021 in its revenue, and has yet to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels as of 2023. Similarly, the luxury department store Harrods have been reporting underwhelming revenue figures despite preserving its almost institutional status as the ultimate in-store luxury experience.The decline of the UK luxury department stores can be attributed to the diminishing appeal of high streets as top shopping destinations. Aware of this fact, some luxury companies have also started integrating online and multichannel strategies into their business. Selfridges is one the more successful heritage brands that managed to forge a strong online presence for themselves, as evidenced by their share of voice among other luxury companies. However, these efforts have yet to yield significant returns.
