Luxury moves to America: brands hunt the new AI rich

European luxury brands have turned noticeably towards the US: a wave of store openings and shows is aimed at a new generation of wealthy shoppers made rich by the boom in AI and technology. It is a way to offset weak consumer confidence across the rest of the world.

After two years of decline the sector had begun to stabilise — until the war with Iran started at the end of February, disrupting tourist flows and hitting spending far beyond the Middle East. China, for twenty years the main source of growth, is still fighting deflation and the consequences of its property crisis. The sector needs wealthy Americans as never before.

“The American high-end customer has proved far more resilient than anywhere else, especially compared with Europe,” says Marcus Morris-Eyton, a portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein in London: these people are supported by the continuing AI rally and healthy wage growth.

The brands’ reaction is quick. Dior and Gucci showed cruise collections in the US. Zegna is presenting its summer 2027 collection in Los Angeles.

The figures confirm the shift. Last year North America came first for the number of new luxury stores for the first time: 27% of global openings against 26% in Europe and 19% in China — even as the total number of openings fell to its lowest since 2020. At the same time, the US still has fewer stores per very wealthy resident than China. “Many brands still consider the US an underdeveloped market relative to the scale of its wealth,” says Todd Siegel, president of US retail at Savills.

The investment is not going only into the big cities on both coasts. Wealthy people are moving to second-tier states and cities where taxes are lower than in California or New York — and the brands are following them. Moncler opened a store at the Aspen ski resort in January and is planning the world’s largest flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York in the second half of the year, along with locations at Valley Fair in California and in Dallas. Hermès opened for the first time in Nashville and Scottsdale last year, moves this summer into the Plaza del Lago shopping centre in Wilmette outside Chicago, and in September into Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

The sector is described as “a two-speed world”: the US and part of Asia are growing, while Europe and the Middle East suffer from weak tourist spending. Most brands do not disclose American figures separately, but in the quarterly reports the Americas region consistently outruns the rest. At Richemont, the owner of Cartier, sales in the Americas rose 18% from January to March — the ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in the region.

American groups are winning too: sales at Ralph Lauren and Tapestry, the owner of Coach, are outpacing competitors. “Our core customers are loyal and resilient,” says Ralph Lauren’s chief product and merchandising officer Halide Alagöz. “So far we see that their behaviour is not changing. On the contrary, in turbulent times consumers want to come to brands they trust.” The Tapestry chief executive Joanne Crevoiserat notes the growth potential in North America: “We are building emotional connections and bringing new, younger consumers to the market.”

But euphoria would be misplaced. The Morgan Stanley analyst Edouard Aubin believes the coming American IPOs could spur spending on expensive watches and jewellery, but he points out that Americans account for only 20 to 22% of global luxury spending. “It is nice, it helps, but for the sector really to recover, China needs to get better too.”