Bags and Luggage in Sweden

PROSPECTS

Fast fashion decline hits basic and mid handbags

Fast fashion sales declined in Sweden during 2017, with this trend continuing in 2018 and consumers now spending more on beauty products instead. This has mainly impacted basic items, which saw a decline in sales in 2017.

Trekking trend and backpacks sales growing more slowly

Following steady performance from 2010 to 2016, backpacks growth slowed in 2017. Although sales have picked up in 2018, backpacks seems to have matured in Sweden, with local brands shifting towards pure outdoor retailers and no longer selling their backpacks through regular stores.

Affordable luxury and luxury handbags growing in popularity

The luxury segment in Sweden has been growing, driven by increased disposable incomes in high income households. The increase in tourism due to the devaluation of the Swedish Krona has attracted more consumers from abroad that find Sweden to be relatively cheap.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Sport and trekking brands still enjoy large share of sales

The stagnation in demand for sports and trekking backpacks is not likely to have any large impact on brand positioning in this area over the coming years. Although the largest backpack brands in Sweden, Fjällräven and Haglöfs, focus on trekking, growth in this area is being fuelled by sports backpacks, with sales being sustained by the healthy and sporting lifestyle trends.

Increased competition in basic handbags, while mid and luxury bags perform well

Fast fashion retailers struggled in handbags in 2017 due to the impact of lower unit prices on profitability. In addition to concept stores, regular discounting also had a negative impact on unit prices in 2017 and 2018, thus negatively affecting value growth.

Luggage and travelling

The popularity of air travel continues to grow steadily in Sweden, thus positively impacting luggage sales, with demand for brands such as Samsonite increasing over the review period. Samsonite is the leading brand in Sweden due its reputation for quality, with infrequent purchases meaning that consumers often opt for quality in this area.

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