Personal Accessories in the United Kingdom

Personal accessories continues to grow but competitive landscape rapidly evolving

Personal accessories recorded healthy growth in the UK in 2019, although disparities between and within categories remain. The market is experiencing the impact of wider luxury and apparel industry trends – most notably premiumisation, which is causing further polarisation between high-end and value players in watches and jewellery.

Luxury players drive growth across categories

Within personal accessories in the UK, the bags category saw strong growth in backpacks, mainly driven by increasingly active and mobile consumer lifestyles. With a growing public focus on health and wellness and working remotely becoming more commonplace, demand for functional and convenient bag styles is on the rise.

A concentrated market contending with digital disruption

The UK personal accessories market became further concentrated in 2019 as the premiumisation trend and continued strong performance of the luxury segment drove demand for luxury handbags, high mechanical watches and fine jewellery, with leading players such as Gucci, Rolex and Tiffany & Co all consolidating their positions in their respective categories. Meanwhile, the mid and lower end of the market struggled, with sales of bags and watches on the high street continuing to suffer in an unstable retail environment.

Traditional retailers face mounting pressure from new and alternative distribution channels

The UK retail environment continues to be dramatically reshaped by changing consumer behaviour and the resulting woes of former high street powerhouses, which have been well documented in the British press. Personal accessories has not been immune to the rapidly evolving landscape, with traditional distribution channels continuing to undergo a decline in share of sales, while internet retailing grows at a faster rate than all other channels.

Growth expected to slow slightly over the forecast period, as competing industries gain momentum

Personal accessories is set to see a slight slowdown in growth over the forecast period. Bags and luggage will outperform total personal accessories overall.

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