Luxury brands look for new African markets
In another sign of the growing affluence of Africa's booming economies luxury goods manufacturers are tagetting rich African millionaires who are eager to buy.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Luxury-brands-l...
An article in Business day points out Burberry Group, Prada, and other luxury companies are opening stores in African cities to cater to demand for displaying newfound wealth. "The mix of customers is changing," Michele Norsa, CEO of shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo. "You see nationalities of people you had never figured buying, from Angola, Nigeria or Latin American countries."
Burberry opened its first boutique in Johannesburg at the end of last year, adding to the store it has had in Cape Town since 2008. Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci, Prada, Miu Miu and others have outlets in Casablanca’s first luxury mall, which opened in December. Swiss watchmaker Breitling distributes its timepieces via wholesalers in Ghana, Algeria and 10 other African countries.
"There is a new focus on Africa," suit maker Ermenegildo Zegna Group said in April, announcing plans to open its first stores in Morocco and Nigeria.
Even as brands rush in, most wealthy Africans still buy their luxury goods on trips to Europe or the Middle East. The shops remain important, though, in building brand awareness, even if they do not rack up sales.
Brand awareness of luxury goods is nurtured in Paris and Dubai but it needs the local awaresss of branded local stores as well and there is a move to establish stores that can offer a far wider selection of goods than the average duty free at the airport.
In Morocco, "it’s very much a case of showing that label, whereas in developed markets, it’s, if anything, the opposite", said Fflur Roberts, global head of luxury-goods research at Euromonitor. In much of Africa, "bling is still king". Consumer spending is set to surge more than 54% between last year and 2020 in the country, according to Euromonitor.Morocco Mall is said to be the first mega Mall on the African continent along with South Africa but other countries like Nigeria which have the wealth have not created the mega shopping Mall idea as yet.
In other parts of Africa however luxury goods manufacturers will have to tailor their marketing where proverty and malnutrition is prevelant, a challenge the industry has had to face for some time.
Burberry opened its first boutique in Johannesburg at the end of last year, adding to the store it has had in Cape Town since 2008. Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci, Prada, Miu Miu and others have outlets in Casablanca’s first luxury mall, which opened in December. Swiss watchmaker Breitling distributes its timepieces via wholesalers in Ghana, Algeria and 10 other African countries.
"There is a new focus on Africa," suit maker Ermenegildo Zegna Group said in April, announcing plans to open its first stores in Morocco and Nigeria.
Even as brands rush in, most wealthy Africans still buy their luxury goods on trips to Europe or the Middle East. The shops remain important, though, in building brand awareness, even if they do not rack up sales.
Brand awareness of luxury goods is nurtured in Paris and Dubai but it needs the local awaresss of branded local stores as well and there is a move to establish stores that can offer a far wider selection of goods than the average duty free at the airport.
In Morocco, "it’s very much a case of showing that label, whereas in developed markets, it’s, if anything, the opposite", said Fflur Roberts, global head of luxury-goods research at Euromonitor. In much of Africa, "bling is still king". Consumer spending is set to surge more than 54% between last year and 2020 in the country, according to Euromonitor.Morocco Mall is said to be the first mega Mall on the African continent along with South Africa but other countries like Nigeria which have the wealth have not created the mega shopping Mall idea as yet.
In other parts of Africa however luxury goods manufacturers will have to tailor their marketing where proverty and malnutrition is prevelant, a challenge the industry has had to face for some time.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Luxury-brands-l...