Consumption favors luxury goods, imports of watches and precious jewelry growing rapidly

2025-02-17 08:00:00, Ekonomi CNA

Consumption favors luxury goods, imports of watches and precious jewelry growing

The country's population is shrinking year by year, but consumption of some luxury items has seen rapid growth in recent years.

For example, the import of watches last year increased by about 32%. Since the advent of mobile phones, watches have "lost" their main function as time indicators. Nowadays, watches, especially those from well-known brands, are mostly used as jewelry, indicating a kind of social status.

According to INSTAT data, in 2024 the value of imported watches reached 752 million lek, a value of approximately 7.5 million euros, with an increase of 32.6% compared to 2023.

In the last five years, watch imports have doubled at a time when the country's population shrank by about 420,000 people between the two censuses of 2011-2023.

Imports of natural pearls, precious stones and jewelry also saw strong growth in 2024. Last year, 6.8 billion lek (68 million euros) of these items were imported, an increase of 34.4% compared to 2023.

In the last 5 years, imports of precious stones and pearls have increased by 3.4 times.

Last year alone, the Albanian economy exported around 75 million euros to purchase luxury goods such as watches and jewelry.

Import growth for other goods was lower, averaging 8%, but in luxury goods import growth was more than four times higher.

The consumption structure in the country is shifting away from luxury goods according to several other domestic indicators.

Real estate agencies have begun selling luxury penthouses at auction at prices exceeding 6,000 euros per square meter. As the supply of luxury housing increases, demand for them remains high.

The shift in consumption away from luxury goods indicates that the country's economic growth is increasingly being distributed unevenly.

As the rich get richer, some social groups, such as the population in rural areas and pensioners, remain exposed to high poverty.

In 2023, Albania led Europe in terms of the highest level of population at risk of poverty, with 42 percent of its population. More than 1 million Albanians suffer from a severe form of poverty.

Albania, as a developing country, continues to suffer from high levels of corruption and an economic model that is not based on skills and sectors that bring high wages. This situation is becoming a cause for continued emigration, especially for young people./ Monitor Magazine