Andrea Felsted, Columnist

Luxury Really Isn't as Bad as the Market Says

The high-end industry isn’t broken. Investors needn’t be so gloomy.

June 19, 2025 at 9:30 AM UTC

Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering consumer goods and the retail industry. Previously, she was a reporter for the Financial Times.

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The luxury industry faces another lost year, according to a new report from Bain & Co. and Altagamma, the Italian luxury association. But investors are being too gloomy on top-end goods. For those prepared to take a long-term view, there may be ways to benefit from the bling bloodbath.

Sales of personal luxury goods are expected to have fallen between 2% and 4%, excluding currency movements, in the first quarter of 2025, according to Bain. This was before the turmoil in global bond and equity markets unleashed by Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught. The second quarter may be even more painful.