Categories
On the heels of an announcement to build more factories, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor, and Toyota have all reported solid profits, with Toyota posting the biggest gain in the last year, and Mitsubishis new car plants having helped to boost its sales in recent months.
While many of these firms are still struggling to keep up with the economic downturn, it’s clear that the global economy is starting to pick up steam.
In particular, a surge in Chinese demand for the luxury goods that Japanese companies have been building over the last decade has made it possible for Chinese manufacturers to compete with foreign rivals.
For Mitsubizas luxury goods division, this is a big deal.
The Japanese company’s luxury brands have become the most valuable brand in the world, with its brand worth about $5.5 trillion.
It’s the world’s second-largest luxury conglomerate after Apple, with more than a billion dollars in annual sales.
But despite these enormous sales, Mitsabishis luxury brand is also facing a tough time.
Its market share, at just over 30 percent, is nowhere near what it was in the 1990s.
As a result, Mitsibishis stock price has been on a tear.
“The recent market recovery has helped push the market to new highs and we have seen strong growth in demand,” said Mitsubinews CEO Yoshihiko Tsubaki.
Last month, Mitsubs sales hit $6.5 billion, a record.
Even if the market continues to rally, Mitshibis luxury brands stock price may still be too high.
Despite a surge of foreign demand for luxury goods, it seems that the Japanese market is becoming more competitive in the coming years.
However, it may take more than just the economic recovery for Japanese luxury brands to become more attractive to foreign buyers.
According to a new report from consulting firm McKinsey, the global luxury market will remain stagnant in the long run.
Mitsuhei Miyazawa, the CEO of McKinsey Japan, explained that the “lifestyle is more important” to luxury companies than ever before.
His firm predicts that luxury brands will remain profitable for the next three decades, but only at the expense of the other sectors.
He believes that the rising popularity of luxury goods in the US and Europe is due to a combination of both domestic and foreign demand, which has created an environment where luxury companies can grow even more rapidly.
This could make the Japanese luxury market one of the worlds most lucrative.
McKinsey estimates that the value of luxury assets in the luxury market is worth around $10.8 trillion, a 40 percent increase over the previous decade.
Meanwhile, in China, the number of luxury brands has tripled in the past decade, from three to more than eight.
These Chinese brands have also been able to capture a significant portion of the luxury industry.
China is expected to be home to one of two fastest growing luxury markets in the next five years.
