Highlights :

• International competition in high-end varieties can be studied at the 6-digit level of the international classification of traded products by exploiting the distribution of unit values of traded goods.
• Exports of high-end varieties are less sensitive to distance than other varieties
• Exports of high-end varieties are more sensitive to destination country wealth than other varieties
• Only countries already producing a large range of luxury brands benefit from this sensitivity to wealth

 Abstract :
We study international competition in high-end varieties for 416 detailed HS6 product categories marketed by the leading French luxury brands. We construct a world database of trade flows for these products, computing unit values of related bilateral trade flows and analyzing competition among the main exporters. We use the observed distribution of unit values to define a high-end market segment. Exports of high-end varieties are shown to be less sensitive to distance, and found more sensitive to destination country wealth than other varieties, but only in relation to countries already producing a large range of luxury brands, pointing to a first-mover advantage.

 Keywords : Product Differentiation | Market Shares | Unit Values

 JEL : F12, F15