State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2026
Welcome to the ninth edition of the State of the Luxury Market in Africa, Luxity’s annual report on how South Africans search for, buy and resell luxury. In 2026 the shortlist got wider. Attention is reaching beyond the usual names, smaller watches are gaining ground, familiar handbag families are moving in different price directions, and pre-owned luxury still has an accessible entry point: the median purchase on Luxity was R8,000.
This year’s report draws on a full year of Luxity search and sales data, from July 2025 to June 2026, read alongside international resale reports from The RealReal, FASHIONPHILE, Rebag, Chrono24 and Vestiaire Collective. It keeps the features readers come back to every year: the Value of Luxury Brands Index, the Crown of Luxury Brands and our Chanel-versus-gold comparison.
Download the full State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2026 report (PDF)
Past editions
- State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2025
- State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2024
- State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2023
- State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2022
- State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2021
- State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2020
- State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2019
- State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2018
Key findings at a glance
- Louis Vuitton (14.07%) and Gucci (11.16%) are still South Africa’s most searched luxury brands on Luxity, but the top 10’s share of brand interest slipped from 58.67% to 57%.
- Loewe more than doubled its share of brand interest (0.30% to 0.72%), and Hermès made the biggest gain in percentage points (1.52% to 2.25%).
- Hermès resold at 119.8% of estimated retail across its catalogue, driven by scarce handbags. Its median item resold at 68.2%.
- Rolex resold at 95.1% of estimated retail, the highest of any watch brand, ahead of Hublot (73.4%) and Chopard (64.3%).
- Smaller watches gained ground: cases up to 34 mm rose from 35.0% to 43.8% of measured watch purchases.
- Pre-owned luxury stayed accessible: the median price paid held at R8,000, and 57.7% of purchases were under R10,000.
- Gold beat the Chanel Classic Flap on price growth: up 23.0% in US dollars over the year to June 2026, against 8.3% for the bag’s US list price.
What is the State of the Luxury Market in Africa report?
The State of the Luxury Market in Africa is an annual report by Luxity, South Africa’s pre-owned luxury reseller, published every year since 2018. It uses Luxity’s website search data and completed sales to show which luxury brands South Africans are most interested in, what share of retail price pre-owned pieces resell for, and how buying habits change from year to year.
A wider luxury shortlist
2026 was a year of contrasting fortunes for luxury brands. Some established names lost share of attention, while others broke out well beyond their usual level of interest.
- Loewe more than doubled its share of brand search interest, from 0.30% to 0.72%, a 139% relative increase. It is still a small part of the picture, but it is one of the clearest discovery stories of the year.
- Hermès made the largest gain in percentage points, climbing from 1.52% to 2.25% of brand interest (up 48%).
- Browns, the jeweller founded in Johannesburg in 1934, adds a distinctly local name to the story. Its share rose from 0.28% to 0.49%, up 77%.
Some of these shifts echo what is happening overseas. The RealReal’s 2026 Resale Report also flagged rising attention to Loewe and Miu Miu, with saved searches up 88% and 96%. On Luxity, the matching gains in share of brand interest were 139% for Loewe and 14% for Miu Miu. Some trends cross borders intact; others arrive more quietly.
One note on reading these numbers: they are changes in share of attention, not changes in the number of people searching.
The most searched luxury brands in South Africa in 2026
Louis Vuitton and Gucci remain the leading names in South African luxury search. Below them, the order is changing: Christian Dior moves up to third, Dolce & Gabbana climbs from sixth to fifth, and Chanel rises from ninth to seventh.
| Rank 2026 | Brand | Share of brand interest 2026 | Share 2025 (rank) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis Vuitton | 14.07% | 14.41% (1) |
| 2 | Gucci | 11.16% | 12.04% (2) |
| 3 | Christian Dior | 5.21% | 4.59% (4) |
| 4 | Prada | 4.89% | 5.33% (3) |
| 5 | Dolce & Gabbana | 4.64% | 4.20% (6) |
| 6 | Burberry | 4.02% | 4.53% (5) |
| 7 | Chanel | 3.58% | 3.04% (9) |
| 8 | Saint Laurent | 3.49% | 3.67% (8) |
| 9 | Christian Louboutin | 3.31% | 3.87% (7) |
| 10 | Cartier | 2.63% | 3.02% (10) |
Together, the top 10 accounted for 57% of brand search interest, down from 58.67% a year earlier, and Louis Vuitton and Gucci combined drew 25.23%, down from 26.45%. More attention is reaching brands outside that group, although the familiar names still command most of it. Chanel’s share rose 18% in relative terms and Dolce & Gabbana’s 10%.
Luxury search interest by category
Shoes and bags remain the first stops for South African luxury shoppers. Together they accounted for 46.72% of category search interest, up from 45.15%.
| Category | Share of category interest 2026 |
|---|---|
| Shoes | 24.23% |
| Bags | 22.50% |
| Accessories | 19.05% |
| Apparel | 14.19% |
| Jewellery | 8.56% |
| Sunglasses | 6.63% |
| Watches | 4.84% |
The watch contrast
Watches tell two stories at once. The watch category’s share of interest fell from 6.36% to 4.84%, a 24% relative decline. Yet Omega’s and Rolex’s shares of brand interest grew by 42% and 21%. A popular watch name and the wider watch category can move in different directions, which is why a single headline about a “watch boom” or a “watch slump” would miss part of the picture.
Which luxury brands hold their value best in 2026?
Our Value of Luxury Brands Index maps each brand by its average resale price and by what share of estimated retail price its pre-owned pieces sell for.
- Hermès is this year’s standout at 119.8% of retail overall, driven by highly sought-after handbags that continue to command premiums. Its median resale ratio, though, is 68.2%. The exceptional pieces do not represent the whole range.
- Rolex sits close to its estimated new-retail price at 95.1%.
- Cartier resells at 69.1%, Louis Vuitton at 65.8% and Chanel at 58.0% across their product mixes.
The lesson from Hermès applies to every brand: when you buy pre-owned luxury with value in mind, the specific model and its condition matter more than the name on the label.
The Crown of Luxury Brands 2026
The annual Crown compares like with like: handbags against handbags, watches against watches. These are the brands with the highest resale-to-retail ratios in each category.
| Category | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bags | Hermès 162.5% | Louis Vuitton 70% | Christian Dior 67.2% |
| Watches | Rolex 95.1% | Hublot 73.4% | Chopard 64.3% |
| Jewellery | Cartier 76.9% | Louis Vuitton 66.7% | Browns 61.7% |
| Shoes | Balenciaga 58.1% | Burberry 58% | Christian Dior 57.1% |
| Clothing | Louis Vuitton 50.1% | Gucci 44% | Burberry 43.2% |
| Accessories | Gucci 64.1% | Louis Vuitton 63.7% | Montblanc 56.8% |
| Wallets | Gucci 65.5% | Louis Vuitton 61.2% | – |
Hermès handbags are an exceptional collector segment. Their 162.5% weighted ratio describes a limited, unusually valuable mix and is not a promise for every Birkin, Kelly or Hermès purchase. Rebag’s 2025 Clair Report shows the same pattern at model level, with the Kelly Mini II reselling at 282% of retail.
Different categories also produce different leaders. Cartier leads jewellery, Balenciaga, Burberry and Dior are closely grouped in shoes, and Gucci leads both wallets and accessories. A whole-house reputation does not tell the full story of every category.
Where resale ratios moved
More curiosity does not automatically mean stronger prices against retail.
- Miu Miu gained on both measures: its resale ratio rose from 42.6% to 48.5%, alongside a 14% increase in its share of brand interest.
- Salvatore Ferragamo’s ratio also improved, from 47.2% to 49.8%.
- Dolce & Gabbana gained share of search interest, but its resale-to-retail ratio fell from 59.1% to 53.9%.
- Alexander McQueen (now 50.6%) and Bottega Veneta (now 54.4%) also recorded lower ratios.
Popularity vs resale value
Louis Vuitton and Gucci attract the largest shares of brand interest, but Rolex and Hermès stand higher on resale value. Our Value vs Hype map plots each brand’s share of search interest against its resale ratio. Watchmakers and jewellers such as IWC, Van Cleef & Arpels and Tudor, along with Goyard and Browns, sit above the average resale ratio of 55.05% despite drawing less than the average 1.26% share of search interest.
The map does not label any brand as overpriced or underpriced. Resale value also reflects the type of product, its condition, its retail price and how scarce particular models are. For shoppers, it is a reminder to look beyond the most visible logo: brand interest measures curiosity, not value.
Handbag icons move at different speeds
Familiar bag families do not all move together. The Louis Vuitton Neverfull MM reached a median price paid of R28,000, up from R25,000. The Gucci Marmont went the other way, from R25,000 to R22,000. Both are 12% moves, in opposite directions.
Condition is the other lever. Among genuine Neverfull MM totes, bags in very good condition sold for a median R24,500, against R28,000 for those in excellent condition: a 12.5% lower entry price. It is a small matched sample, and material, age and accessories also vary, but it shows how much choice condition gives a buyer.
Smaller watches gain ground
Among watches with usable round-case measurements, the share with cases up to 34 mm rose from 35.0% to 43.8%, an increase of 8.8 percentage points, or 25% in relative terms.
That fits a wider style shift. Chrono24 and Fratello’s H1 2025 report describes a stronger role for dress watches, and for Cartier, among younger buyers. Brand interest adds another angle: Omega’s share rose from 0.99% to 1.41% and Rolex’s from 2.03% to 2.45%. The South African watch story combines changing proportions on the wrist with continued attention to established watchmakers.
Pre-owned luxury still starts below R10,000
The collector end of luxury is only part of the resale story. R8,000 remained the median price paid across Luxity’s pre-owned mix, unchanged year on year, and 57.7% of purchases were below R10,000.
| Price paid | Share of purchases 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Under R10,000 | 57.7% | 59% |
| R10,000 to under R25,000 | 26.6% | 26.3% |
| R25,000 to under R50,000 | 11.6% | 11.5% |
| R50,000 to under R100,000 | 2.6% | 2.2% |
| R100,000 and above | 1.5% | 1% |
Wallets grew from 2.7% to 3.5% of purchases, with a median price that held at R7,000. Jewellery rose from 3.3% to 3.9% of purchases, and its median moved from R8,000 to R9,000. These are changes in the mix of what Luxity customers bought, not measures of national market growth. Vestiaire Collective and BCG’s 2025 community survey found affordability to be a leading reason people buy resale, and Luxity’s price data gives that a local perspective.
Chanel Classic Flap vs gold in 2026
Every year we compare the Chanel Medium Classic Flap with gold. This year, gold won on price growth. Between 30 June 2025 and 30 June 2026, gold’s daily close rose from US$3,264.03 to US$4,015.51 per troy ounce, up 23.0%. Over the same dates, the bag’s US list price rose 8.3%, from $10,800 to $11,300 in August 2025 and to $11,700 in April 2026.
In rand, the picture changes. Luxity saw rand prices of both new and pre-owned Chanel flap bags decline, largely because the rand strengthened. That is the double edge of a luxury handbag as a currency hedge: it can protect against a weaker rand, but a stronger rand can reduce its value in rand terms.
Read more about the bag itself in our guides to the history of the Chanel Flap Bag and the price of Chanel handbags in South Africa.
International resale trends through a South African lens
International resale reports offer useful clues, but their biggest headlines do not all travel intact.
- Brand discovery: The RealReal reports saved searches for Loewe up 88%; on Luxity, Loewe’s share of brand interest rose 139%. Same direction, different measure.
- The comeback bag: FASHIONPHILE reported Balenciaga Le City sales up 525% in 2025. On Luxity, Balenciaga’s overall share of brand interest fell 19%, from 2.50% to 2.02%. One model’s comeback can sit alongside lower attention for the house as a whole.
- Watch style: Chrono24’s H1 2025 report shows a stronger dress-watch and Cartier presence; Luxity’s share of watches up to 34 mm rose 8.8 percentage points.
The names and signals to watch
- Loewe and Browns both gained share of attention from modest starting points. The next test is whether that attention lasts.
- Hermès needs model-level reading. Rising interest and scarce-bag premiums are real, but the exceptional pieces should not set expectations for every item carrying the name.
- Miu Miu has two signals moving together: more search interest and a stronger resale ratio. Neither promises future price growth.
- Omega and smaller watches deserve separate attention. Omega gained interest, and smaller cases gained share of watch purchases.
- Value still starts at attainable prices. An unchanged R8,000 median keeps the affordability story as relevant as collectible bags and watches.
The picture for 2026 is a broader shortlist and a more varied set of price outcomes. Shoppers can find both familiar icons and less visible names in resale, but the model, its condition and its retail price remain essential to understanding what a piece is worth.
Download the full State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2026 report (PDF)
How we measured it
- Search interest: brand and category filter selections on luxity.co.za, recorded in Google Analytics, for July 2025 to June 2026 compared with July 2024 to June 2025. Both years were rebuilt the same way and include all website visitors. Because the 2025 baseline was rebuilt, some 2025 figures here differ from those in last year’s report.
- Resale values and prices paid: completed, retained Luxity purchases over the same July to June periods, compared with estimated new retail prices. Data snapshot: 28 September 2026.
- International context: The RealReal 2025 and 2026 Resale Reports, the FASHIONPHILE 2025 Ultra Luxury Resale Report, the Rebag 2025 Clair Report, the Chrono24 and Fratello H1 2025 report, and Vestiaire Collective and BCG (2025). Chanel prices from PurseBop, FASHIONPHILE and Chanel’s US catalogue; gold prices from GoldPrice daily closes. Full source notes are on page 32 of the report.
Frequently asked questions
Which luxury brand holds its value best in South Africa?
In Luxity’s 2026 data, Hermès resold at 119.8% of estimated retail across its catalogue, driven by scarce handbags, though its median item resold at 68.2%. Rolex followed at 95.1%, the highest of any watch brand. Cartier (69.1%) and Louis Vuitton (65.8%) also held their value well.
What are the most searched luxury brands in South Africa?
Louis Vuitton (14.07% of brand search interest on Luxity) and Gucci (11.16%) lead, followed by Christian Dior, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Chanel, Saint Laurent, Christian Louboutin and Cartier. Together the top 10 drew 57% of brand interest between July 2025 and June 2026.
Is a Chanel Classic Flap bag a better investment than gold?
Not in 2026. Gold rose 23.0% in US dollars between June 2025 and June 2026, while the Chanel Medium Classic Flap’s US list price rose 8.3%. In rand, new and pre-owned Chanel flap prices fell as the rand strengthened, so the bag’s value depends partly on the exchange rate.
How much does pre-owned luxury cost in South Africa?
Less than many people expect. The median price paid for a pre-owned luxury item on Luxity was R8,000 in 2026, unchanged from 2025, and 57.7% of purchases were below R10,000. Only 1.5% of purchases were R100,000 or more.
Where can I download the State of the Luxury Market in Africa 2026 report?
The full 34-page report is free to download as a PDF from this page. It includes the Value of Luxury Brands Index, the Crown of Luxury Brands by category, handbag and watch price trends, the Chanel-versus-gold comparison and full source notes.
Shop or sell with Luxity: browse authenticated pre-owned Hermès, Rolex and Louis Vuitton, or find out what your piece is worth with Sell to Luxity. You can also visit us in Sandton City, Menlyn Park, the V&A Waterfront and Gateway.
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