Lifestyle brands overtake luxury market

Lifestyle brands have overtaken luxury labels in sales value and offer the best prospect for growth and investment in the retail sector, new research suggests.

Cara Delevingne at the launch of Mulberry's Cara Delevingne Collection. Picture: Getty

The lifestyle market has rocketed by 84 per cent since 2008, according to a survey commissioned by legal firm Pinsent Masons, with the category now valued at some £31 billion in the UK. This compares to a luxury brands sector worth an estimated £22.7bn. The report, compiled by retail analyst Conlumino, forecasts that by 2018 the UK lifestyle brand sector will soar to more than £56bn, double the predicted value of the luxury sector.

Priced just below the luxury market, lifestyle brands are said to embody a specific identity and promote certain attitudes, interests and opinions of a group or culture. Experts believe that brands such as Mulberry, whose ambassador is model Cara Delevingne, pictured, and Nespresso, fronted by George Clooney, will underpin growth and provide the most lucrative opportunity for investors.