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Don’t Laugh at the “Man Purse”—It’s Now a $9 Billion Luxury Business
Quartz ^ | October 10, 2013 | Jason Karaian

Posted on 10/13/2013 2:25:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway

All is not well in the luxury world. Stalwart luxury buyers in China are cutting back, according to recent statements from Burberry and Richemont, among others. New data from research firm Euromonitor International confirms that the industry is in a bit of a slump. Global luxury sales are on track to grow by 3% this year, the slowest rate in four years.

Euromonitor reckons that growth will pick up next year, though, driven by its strongest segment in recent years: accessories, specifically men’s accessories. The luxury goods industry has been “manning up” of late, says Fflur Roberts of Euromonitor. A host of luxury brands are opening men’s only stores, tapping a less saturated market undergoing significant shifts in tastes.

In part, the focus on men’s luxury lines reflects the push into fast-growing emerging markets, where the disparity in purchasing power between men and women is wider than in the West, Roberts says. Chinese men are famously keen luxury shoppers, for example.

But one of the hottest luxury items with global appeal is the men’s handbag—the “man bag,” “man purse,” or, simply, “murse“. Euromonitor dug into its data for Quartz to help quantify the murse’s meteoric rise.

Once a source of mockery, over the past five years men’s handbags have seen sales grow at nearly twice the rate of the overall luxury industry. The man-bag market in Asia has doubled since 2008, with murses in the Middle East growing by two-thirds over the same period. The global market for men’s luxury bags will reach just under $9 billion this year, according to Euromonitor.

Handbag-growth-forecast-2012-to-2018-Growth-2008-13-Sales-2013-bn-_chartbuilder The factors driving men’s handbag sales are also fueling luxury accessory sales more generally; accessories have been the fastest-growing luxury segment over the past five years, worth some $50 billion this year. “You might not be able to buy a Zegna coat, but you can have a Zegna bag,” says Roberts. “It’s got the brand but you are not parting with thousands and thousands. Accessories are big because they are a stepping stone into luxury.”

The propensity of men to sport flashier purses is down to changing trends. “Years ago, your average man wouldn’t be caught dead walking down the street with a Mulberry bag,” says Roberts. “It’s becoming a more accepted trend.” Indeed, in explaining its recent industry-bucking jump in sales, the boss of Longchamp noted that the brand benefited from its broader range of men’s bags as they “become part of a gentleman’s outfit.”

Euromonitor expects sales of men’s handbags to moderate in the next five years. This doesn’t mean that blokes won’t still bling it up: Luxury man-bags will continue to grow faster than women’s purses in many parts of the world.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: culturewar; fashion; fashionmenmurse; manpurse; murse; purses; savethemales; wussification
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To: Mich Patriot

I am in agreement with you but have you ever thought about what men did before pockets were invented?

http://www.h2g2.com/approved_entry/A798159


61 posted on 10/13/2013 5:41:28 PM PDT by PeterPrinciple
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To: frickin_frackin
"Chances are, if you worried about being called a homo, you’re a homo."

Whatever. I'd advise you not where your man purse where I work, however. But I'll bet you look fabulous with it..!

62 posted on 10/13/2013 5:46:17 PM PDT by cardinal4 (Is Obama's caddy considered "essential personnel"?)
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To: Mich Patriot

I have a messenger bag. There is no functional difference between it and a purse, or a laptop bag, or a briefcase, or a backpack. Some people have a bunch of gear to carry around, and some of those people are male and some are female.

It’s an argument about words.


63 posted on 10/13/2013 5:47:11 PM PDT by Taliesan
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To: Revolting cat!

Don’t get saucy with me, Béarnaise!


64 posted on 10/13/2013 5:57:28 PM PDT by Marechal
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To: Disambiguator
i have one similar for hiking but it was only $30 from Sportsman's Guide, the adjustable pistol retention system is great...
65 posted on 10/13/2013 6:08:16 PM PDT by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -vvv- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: nickcarraway

If I need more pockets, I have a fly fishing vest. I really like it when I have to travel by air - you don’t have to empty your pockets at the security checkpoint, you just take them off, put them in the bin, and collect them on the other side.


66 posted on 10/13/2013 6:14:38 PM PDT by tacticalogic ("Oh, bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
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To: nickcarraway

67 posted on 10/13/2013 6:15:42 PM PDT by Revolting cat! (Bad things are wrong! Ice cream is delicious!)
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To: nickcarraway

68 posted on 10/13/2013 6:25:03 PM PDT by RandallFlagg (IRS = Internal Revenge Service)
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To: xrmusn

Wow, if I had those rules I’d be dead several times over:

I go backpacking, I own a bike carrier for my mountain bike and I use a fanny pack!

Ed


69 posted on 10/13/2013 6:28:20 PM PDT by Sir_Ed
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To: nickcarraway

Man purse. That's pretty clear.


Man purse?


Man purse?


??

70 posted on 10/13/2013 6:57:27 PM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: cardinal4

Doh! Where=wear


71 posted on 10/14/2013 7:17:54 AM PDT by cardinal4 (Is Obama's caddy considered "essential personnel"?)
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