The first week of the year was a weak one for most major luxury stocks as investors began acting on repeated warnings from analysts (including FSW High Frequency Luxury) and luxury CFOs that this year, particularly H1, would represent a return to normal growth rates for some (especially diversified brands and those catering to HNW) and weaker than historically normal for others (especially those that rely on aspiration consumers). The Stoxx Europe Luxury 10 index was down 3.2 percent while broader, sector-weighted, indexes such as the Eurostoxx 50 and the S&P 500 were fairly flat.
One piece of good news that may serve as leading indicator for a better than expected Q4 for some luxury brands is that the MasterCard Spending Pulse™ (https://lnkd.in/e2zN7XpE) indicator pointed to decent consumer holiday spending especially for apparel though jewelry sales looked poor.