Luxury market recovery seen slow

By Martinne Geller and Astrid Wendlandt

NEW YORK/PARIS (Reuters) - At a time when just being able to afford the rent seems like a luxury, purveyors of high-end jewels, fashion and handbags are facing challenges like never before.

Sales of luxury goods, which are expected to drop 10 percent this year, will not recover fully until 2012, according to a new report by Bain & Co, as austerity and understatement remain the "must-have" items of the rich and fabulous.

Against that backdrop, chief executives from Burberry Group (BRBY.L), Hermes (HRMS.PA), Tiffany & Co (TIF.N) Rolls-Royce (RR.L), and Richemont's (CFR.VX) Van Cleef & Arpels, will gather this week at Reuters' first-ever Global Luxury Summit to share their recipes for success in hard times.

So far these recipes include managing costs carefully and planning conservatively. But beyond just navigating the storm, one question on everybody's lips is: will the glory days ever return?

Bain partner Claudia D'Arpizio said she does not expect annual luxury goods sales to recover to the level of 2007 -- before the U.S. recession set in -- until 2012.

"Consumers 'shop their closets,'" D'Arpizio said in her report, "reusing purchases from past years." But when they do shop, she said consumers are investing in "evergreen" items rather than trendy fashion pieces.

"Austerity is fashionable, even for the wealthiest consumers," D'Arpizio said.

After falling 10 percent in 2009, D'Arpizio said she expects luxury sales to rise 1 percent in 2010, 4 percent in 2011 and 7.5 percent in 2012.