[imagesource:petiteinparis]

There’s a new epicentre of luxury spending and it’s not New York, Milan, Shanghai or Abu Dhabi.

According to new data collected by Morgan Stanley, the kings and queens in luxury – at least in terms of spending money – is now South Korea.

As the world’s biggest spender on luxury goods, South Korea has seen a 24% increase in spending in 2022, which equates to $16,8 billion in revenue, or $325 per capita.

This money-throwing has allowed the K-drama country to completely outpace their Chinese and American counterparts.

Per RobbReport this buoyant demand for luxury goods can be attributed to a number of factors, including an increase in purchasing power and a desire to display social status:

The report asserts that this rise in spending is driven by a desire to clearly display a high socio-economic status through luxury brands. “Appearance and financial success can resonate more with consumers in South Korea than in most other countries,” analysts wrote in the report, according to CNBC.

The demand is also a response to the increase in wealth for Korean households. According to data from the Bank of Korea, the average household net worth rose by 11 percent in 2021.

In Korean society, it is more socially acceptable to display wealth, per Euronews, citing a survey by McKinsey which says that only 22% of Koreans believe that flaunting luxury goods is in poor taste, while 45% of Japanese and 38% of Chinese respondents felt the same.

The steady growth of the South Korean luxury market was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, having helped ease the pain of China’s Zero-COVID policy for some luxury brands.

Now,  the growing luxury market in South Korea has seen luxury brands tapping into the country’s massive entertainment industry, courting famous faces from the country, to boost their sales.

Dior recently announced that BTS star Jimin would be the new global ambassador for the luxury house in response to the country’s growing demand and high sales.

As a new global ambassador for Dior, @BTS_BigHit group member JIMIN kicks off this partnership by embodying the newest creations by Kim Jones. Wearing a sportswear inspired look from the #DiorSummer23 collection, the performer channels Monsieur Dior’s passion for the outdoors. pic.twitter.com/t3PRuekW6u

— Dior (@Dior) January 16, 2023

Other brands are also catching on, with Louis Vuitton and Gucci even releasing new items in Japan or South Korea before opening them for worldwide release.

[source:robbreport]