The Impact Of Consumerism In Europe

United Kingdom has been part of the European Union since 1993. EU is both a political and economic agreement between 28 European countries. The idea came after WWII, that when countries are trading with each other, then it is highly likely that war will be avoided. Since then, it has evolved to a single market with free trade and it is as if acting as one country.

But this all changed in June 2017, when UK voted 52% yes at the referendum to leave the European Union until 2019. Thus, creating the expression BREXIT that stands for Britain joined with exit. Since the result of the referendum, the country is facing a big drop on the sterling value. However, consumerism had its positive impact. According to The Guardian (2016:online) ‘the

According to the NY Times (2016:online) ‘Chinese market account for almost the half of the global luxury market, providing a high demand of goods in different segments’. (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/fashion/china-luxury-goods-retail.html). Younger and more sophisticated generation of shoppers are emerging in Asia looking for new aspirations and creating a new target market for luxury goods. The consumption has gone beyond the logo items (which can affect many brands), these new consumers look for a lifestyle and quality – it is not only purchasing anymore but about the

"In 2015, Japan was the second-largest luxury goods market in the world, worth €20 billion (about $22.7 billion)" (https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/global-currents/in-japan-luxury-flourishes-while-economy-flounders). One of the main reasons for this boost is the increase of Chinese tourism in the country, due to a weakness in yen and relaxed rules of visa. The devaluation of the yen against yuan, made the luxury goods in Japan cheaper for them and, as a consequence, they spend more in luxury brands (representing 40% of total sales).

Japan has always been one of the leading markets in luxury consumerism. The biggest global companies such as LVMH, Richemont and Kering have a strong presence in the country through retail. The market competition is high in the country and the companies have to adapt themselves to consumers need to succeed.

http://www.euromonitor.com/luxury-goods-in-japan/report