Louis Vuitton Korea sees surge in net profit in 2022

Louis Vuitton Korea saw a surge in its net profit last year thanks to many consumers’ splurging following the pandemic.

Christian Dior's logo is seen in Seoul. [YONHAP]

Louis Vuitton Korea saw a surge in its net profit last year thanks to many consumers’ splurging following the pandemic.

Its net rose 68.9 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, boosted by the "revenge shopping" trend during the pandemic and price increases.

Louis Vuitton Korea, the Korean arm of the French luxury house, logged a net profit of 380 billion won ($287.4 million) in 2022, compared with 224.9 billion won in 2021, the company said Friday in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit rose 38.3 percent to 417.7 billion won. Sales grew 15.2 percent to 1.69 trillion won.

The French luxury empire's house brand Christian Dior also enjoyed a similar boom in Korea.

Christian Dior Couture Korea's net income swelled 54.8 percent on-year to 242.7 million won in 2022, while its operating profit and sales in Korea both rose over 50 percent on-year, according to its regulatory filing.

The two luxury brands' strong performance in Asia's fourth-largest economy can be attributed to "revenge shopping," which refers to consumers seeking comfort by purchasing goods while social activities and travel were restricted during the pandemic.

Last year, Koreans were the world's biggest spenders on personal luxury goods, according to Morgan Stanley, with the nation's per capita spending amounting to $325. This far exceeds the $55 and $280 per capita spending by Chinese and Americans, respectively.

Louis Vuitton increased product prices twice last year, on top of its fifth price rise carried out in Korea in 2021. Dior also increased prices twice in 2022.

Last month, LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault visited Korea with his daughter Delphine Arnault, the chairman and CEO of Christian Dior, and discussed potential partnerships with top executives of local retail companies.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YONHAP [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]