Overseas Luxury Brands, Sales Up↑ Donations Down↓
Some Brands Hit by Recession
Overseas luxury brands recorded sales of over several hundred billion won in South Korea last year, but it was revealed that their donations decreased compared to previous years or were nonexistent.
Louis Vuitton did not make any donations in South Korea last year, following 2022.
Louis Vuitton Korea's sales last year amounted to 1.651 trillion won, a 2.43% decrease compared to the previous year. Operating profit also fell by 31.3% to 286.7 billion won.
According to the audit report disclosed by Hermes Korea on the 9th, Hermes recorded sales of about 797.2 billion won in South Korea last year. This is a 22.61% increase from 650.1 billion won the previous year. Operating profit also rose by 11.97% to 235.7 billion won.
As sales increased, dividends were also significantly increased. Hermes Korea's dividends last year were 145 billion won, double the 75 billion won of the previous year.
Hermes raised product prices by 5-10% from the beginning of last year for clothing, bags, shoes, and other items. However, the amount Hermes Korea donated domestically last year was 553.19 million won, which is actually less than the approximately 560 million won donated in 2022.
At least Hermes Korea is among the brands that donate a relatively large amount. The French luxury brand Dior recorded sales of over 1 trillion won in South Korea last year. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, Dior's Korean subsidiary, Christian Dior Couture Korea, posted sales of 1.0456 trillion won last year, a 12.5% increase from 929.5 billion won the previous year. However, operating profit fell by 3.6% to 312 billion won. Christian Dior Couture Korea donated 19.2 million won last year, roughly equivalent to the price of one Dior bag, which is 3 million won more than the previous year.
The watch brand Rolex recorded sales of 294.4 billion won in South Korea last year but donated only 1 million won. Korea Rolex donated 400 million won in 2022 but drastically reduced its donations last year.
Rolex's operating profit sharply decreased from 32.7 billion won in 2022 to about 4.6 billion won last year. It appears that Rolex reduced its donations due to the impact of the domestic economic downturn and other factors affecting its performance.
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