Many decision makers in the global fashion sector have been paying close attention lately to the trading updates issued by such heavyweight luxury players as LVMH and Burberry. 

The question on a significant number of observers’ lips has been: are there signs from the crucial “Golden Quarter” that consumer expenditure held up well over the Christmas period? 

In connection with this, is a convincing picture being painted of a resilient luxury fashion industry around the globe? Or will the efforts among high-end brands to achieve sustained growth continue to face very serious barriers through 2025? 

Mixed outcomes from the Golden Quarter for leading fashion players 

Amid talk of the potential or actual adverse impacts of such developments across the world as the UK’s Autumn Budget, US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and Chinese shoppers cutting back, it is fair to say the luxury sector is facing plenty of challenges. 

Sure enough, 2024 proved to be an especially testing year for the sector. According to McKinsey, it was the first year since 2016 – except for the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis – that saw a decline in luxury growth. 

The management consulting company observed that while the luxury industry recorded compound annual growth of 5% from 2019 to 2023 – with profits almost tripling – it anticipates the sector only mustering 1% to 3% annual expansion between 2024 and 2027. 

So, what have the recent fortunes been of the luxury industry’s titans? Here is a quick rundown: 

• LVMH – the portfolio of which encompasses such names as Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, and Fendi – has reported revenue of £71 billion (€84.7 billion) for 2024. This is higher than its previous expectation of £70.7 billion (€84.28 billion), with the group crediting demand in Europe and the United States, as well as its leather goods category. 
• Burberry reported revenues of £659 million for the 13 weeks to 28^th December. This was a 7% decrease from the £706 million the British fashion house had generated over the same period a year earlier. Nonetheless, the brand said it was moving with “urgency” to turn around the business and return to profit – a plan it said was already beginning to pay off. 
• Brunello Cucinelli – the Italian brand with four stores in London, including a New Bond Street flagship – said its preliminary figures for 2024 showed £1.07 billion (€1.27 billion) in revenues. Growth was recorded of 12.2% at current exchange rates, and 12.4% at constant exchange rates, compared to 2023. 

What are the prospects for the major luxury players in 2025? 

There is certainly a degree of bullishness among the aforementioned names. Brunello Cucinelli has highlighted the company’s “beautiful order book” for 2025, and encouraging initial sales of its spring-summer ’25 collections. 

LVMH, meanwhile, expressed that it remained “confident and will pursue its brand development-focused strategy”. The company signalled it was on a “quest for desirability and quality in its products and their highly selective distribution”. 

As for a sector-wide overview, Barclays analyst Carole Madjo has indicated that “we do expect to see a small rebound of the luxury space in 2025 after a challenging 2024.” 

Meanwhile, Gemma D’Auria – a senior partner at McKinsey – predicted a “quite choppy” next few months for the luxury industry, followed by improvements later in the year. 

So, there we have it; tentative reasons to adopt an upbeat stance, in what remains an extraordinarily testing economic and geopolitical environment for so many upmarket brands. 

To discover how your organisation can spend 2025 emulating the successes of the industry players featured in our own luxury creative portfolio here at Skywire London, please don’t hesitate to contact our strategic and digital experts today.