Louis Vuitton Korea net income up 68.9 pct in 2022 on revenge shopping, price hikes

SEOUL, April, 10 (Yonhap) -- Louis Vuitton Korea has said its net income rose 68.9 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, boosted by the "revenge shopping" trend during the pandemic and price increases.

Louis Vuitton Korea Ltd., the Korean arm of the French luxury house, logged a net income of 380 billion won (US$287.4 million) in 2022, compared with 224.9 billion won in 2021, the company said Friday in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit rose 38.3 percent to 417.7 billion won. Sales grew 15.2 percent to 1.69 trillion won.

The French luxury empire's house brand Christian Dior also enjoyed a similar boom in South Korea.

Christian Dior Couture Korea's net income swelled 54.8 percent on-year to 242.7 million won in 2022, while its operating profit and sales in South Korea both rose over 50 percent on-year, according to its regulatory filing.

The two luxury brands' strong performance in Asia's fourth-largest economy can be attributed to "revenge shopping," which refers to consumers seeking comfort by purchasing goods while social activities and travel were restricted during the pandemic.

Last year, South Koreans were the world's biggest spenders on personal luxury goods, according to Morgan Stanley, with the nation's per capita spending amounting to $325. This far exceeds the $55 and $280 per capita spending by Chinese and Americans, respectively.

A series of price increases by LVMH in South Korea also helped boost profitability.

Louis Vuitton increased product prices twice last year, on top of its fifth price rise carried out in South Korea in 2021. Dior also increased prices twice in 2022.

Last month, LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault visited South Korea with his daughter Delphine Arnault, the chairman and CEO of Christian Dior, and discussed potential partnerships with top executives of local retail companies.

fairydust@yna.co.kr
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