Following the news that LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LMVH) opened its first restaurant “The Hall by Louis Vuitton” in Chengdu, a city in Southwest China:

Bobby Verghese, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, offers his view:

“LVMH has recently opened ‘The Hall by Louis Vuitton’ restaurant at the iconic Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li mall located in Chengdu, the largest and most populated city in the Sichuan province. This is unsurprising as the rising consumer purchasing power of Chengdu is attracting luxury brands to the ‘tier 1’ city. GlobalData estimates Chengdu’s real GDP at $129.3 billion and per-capita real GDP at $7.9 billion in 2022^**. While this is not significant compared to Beijing’s real GDP of $432.7 billion and per-capita real GDP of $19.7 billion^**, Chengdu is a fast-emerging economic powerhouse. The semi-provincial city is home to a plethora of industrial complexes, many of which were commissioned by Fortune 500 companies, and educational institutions.

“Through this strategic move, LMVH looks to evolve itself from a luxury goods brand to a lifestyle brand. The French multinational luxury house offers skincare, fragrances, make-up, and male toiletries in China under the brands Bvlgari, Dior, Givenchy, Guerlain, Kenzo, Benefit, and Makeup Forever. The Chinese cosmetics market is a pillar for LMVH, which contributed $998.5 million in value sales in 2021, up from $895.1 million in 2020^*. The iconic historical location Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li will aid LMVH in localizing its brand image in China at a time when local cosmetics brands are stealing the thunder from MNCs. The brand is finding its way into the hearts of Chinese consumers through food. ‘The Hall by Louis Vuitton’ joins China’s full-service restaurant market, which GlobalData forecasts to expand from an estimated $558.1 billion in 2022 to $719.8 billion by 2026^***.”

^* GlobalData Consumer Intelligence Center – Market Analyzers, accessed in November 2022

^** GlobalData Consumer Intelligence Center – Macroeconomic Data, accessed in November 2022

^*** GlobalData Foodservice Intelligence Center – Market Analyzers, accessed in November 2022