McKinsey takes a keen interest in the luxury market. Here is a sampling of some of our most recent in-depth research on the subject.

What companies need to know about Brazil’s luxury consumer, January 2012
McKinsey estimates that about 3 million Brazilians can afford luxury goods. There are 24 billionaires and some 155,000 millionaires—a third of the latter are under 35. São Paulo has more helicopters than any other city in the world. The sale of luxury cars has been growing 45% a year. At the tip of the tip of the pyramid are the High Net Worths—the one-tenth of one percent of households (about 13,700 of them, according to McKinsey estimates) who make at least 46,500 reals a month ($25,200). Then there are the AAAs and the Aspirationals.

Korea’s luxury market: Demanding consumers, but room to grow, September 2011
Every year since 2006, sales of luxury goods in South Korea have risen at least 12%, to an estimated $4.5 billion in 2010. In the first four months of 2011, sales at department stores were up more than 30% compared to 2010. This continues an established trend, as last year’s report on the market showed. Still, insiders are asking whether it can last.

No seismic shift for luxury in post-quake Japan – May-June 2011
Dealt an earthquake and a nuclear crisis in March 2011, Japan’s luxury consumers were not stopped for long. With travel during the May break known as Golden Week down 30 percent, shoppers took to the streets closer to home and once again opened their wallets at crowded luxury boutiques. They did so with caution, however: continuing a two-year trend, consumers are increasingly looking for a deal or other specific “reason” to purchase, and planned buys are far outweighing impulse buys. With a continued focus on quality, service, and marketing, Japan’s luxury market should recover to pre-March 11 levels.

Understanding China's growing love for luxury, March 2011
Stride through China's gleaming new high-end shopping malls and glitzy boutiques and expect to see shoppers on a mission. China's swelling class of wealthy consumers have the cash, and are willing and able to spend it on what, just until a few years ago, was well beyond their reach. Today, luxury goods are the de rigeur symbols of wealth and social status in China.

What's next: The rebirth of luxury, October 2010
As the global markets slowly regain their footing, the business world is left wondering what kind of consumer will emerge from this most recent recession. Looking back over the past two years, it is clear that the difference between the 2008 downturn and its predecessors was that this downturn hit all elements of consumer finances – including luxury spending.