Now valued at a total of 42.4 billion złotys (€9.94 billion) per year, the luxury goods market in the country swelled by 12.2% in 2023 compared to the previous year.

Andrzej Marczak, a partner at KPMG, said: “The luxury goods market in Poland is growing each year; since we began analyzing the luxury goods market, including the wealth of Poles, we have observed a constant increase in the number of wealthy people in the country. This is a trend that has been going on for many years.”

The rise, says Marczak, can be explained by numerous factors, among them high inflation and significant salary bumps. Now, according to KPMG’s data, the number of people earning more than 120,000 złotys per year equates to approximately 1.5 million people.

Premium and luxury cars remain the biggest indulgent, with saw a total spend of 25 billion zlotys in 2023, an increase of 7.5%. Luxury hotels and spa breaks saw a spend of 5.8 billion złotys (up 23.8% on the previous year), while luxury clothes and accessories accounted for 3.8 billion złotys (up 17.7%).

Luxury real estate, meanwhile, recorded a spend of 3.3 billion złotys whilst alcohol saw 1.7 billion złotys spent (an increase of just over 20% from the previous year).

According to KPMG, wealthy refugees from Ukraine have helped stimulate the market. “The inflow of well-earning Ukrainian citizens, employed in international corporations, may have contributed to the growth,” said Marczak.

Their spending has also mitigated the negative impact of high inflation on the supply side of the market, noted the report.

Forecasts for 2024 are similarly optimistic with analysts expecting a 21.1% increase.

“The dynamic development of the market is mainly due to the growth of the Polish economy, the increasing number of high-earning people and the development of retail trade,” the report said.

“In a period of economic uncertainty, goods such as jewelry are coming to the forefront of the stakes in the luxury competition,” it added.