SALES growth in the global personal luxury goods market has slowed this year to 1-2 percent from 3 percent in 2014 at constant currencies, hit by lower demand on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, consultancy Bain & Co. said in a study.

    The sector also suffered from flattish trading in real terms in the United States as the strong dollar bloated revenues in local currency but spooked tourists who preferred instead to shop in Europe and Japan where they could get better deals.

    Overall the market, which encompasses jewelry, watches, accessories and fashion but leaves out luxury cars, yachts and fine art, is set to reach 253 billion euros (US$277 billion) by the end of the year. That is a 13 percent rise at current exchange rates on 2014, Bain said in the study produced with Italian luxury trade body Altagamma.

    Back in 2011, 2012 and 2013, the sector’s growth was 13 percent, 5 percent and 6 percent respectively at constant exchange rates.

    The slowdown is also due to the retreat of Russians, particularly from their traditional shopping hotspots such as Dubai and Milan. A year ago, they were the world’s second-biggest buyers of luxury goods behind the Chinese, but their purchasing power has halved with the ruble’s devaluation.

    Adding to the industry’s woes, local consumption by Europeans and Americans has fallen by a high single digit percentage in the past five years, said Claudia D’Arpizio, a lead author of the study.

    She said many major brands had alienated local consumers by raising prices for certain items such as best-selling handbags.

    The increases, which she estimated to be 30-50 percent over the past three years for some items, were partly driven by the desire to harmonize prices with other regions such as Asia, where prices were higher due to tariffs and other factors.(SD-Agencies)