Three of the world’s largest luxury conglomerates opened just 29 stores in Europe last year, down 20% on 2023 in the latest evidence of a slowdown in the sector. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, which owns Christian Dior and Tiffany & Co., opened 15 stores ahead of Richemont at 11 and Kering at only three, said real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield. By contrast, the three companies opened 36 stores in total in 2023.  The slowdown reflects the luxury industry’s choppy recovery from an extraordinary surge in demand after the pandemic, followed by a slump in spending, particularly among Chinese shoppers. Overall, across all high-end brands, only 83 stores were opened in 12 European countries last year, down from 107 in 2023, although this was also driven by a lack of prime space on the best streets, said Cushman & Wakefield. The 20 main luxury shopping streets surveyed — such as Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris and Bond Street, London — had fewer than 10% empty stores last year. Six of them had no vacant space at all. Luxury rents continue to surge and were up 3.6% on average in 2024.