Louis Vuitton & co continue to stun analysts

LVMH, the luxury concern behind Louis Vuitton, Dior and others, has had a fantastic start to the year. The French group increased its turnover by 15% and operational profit saw double-digit growth.

China represents one third

With its above-expected results, LVMH continues to stun analysts, who had assumed a 14.4% turnover increase in the second quarter for main brands Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. Instead, the luxury labels sold 20% more. China in particular, continues to see explosive growth in demand: the Chinese market now represents a third of all sales at the group.

In the first six months of the year, turnover increased by 15%, reaching a total of 25.1 billion euros. Without currency effects, the increase was 12%. Profit also climbed high: operational profit ended at 5.2 billion euros, which means 14% growth. The profit margin remained at a stable 21.1%.

LVMH “transcends time”

“LVMH has made an excellent start to the year. These results once again illustrate the effectiveness of our strategy and the exceptional desirability of our Maisons, whose products transcend time,” said CEO Bernard Arnault. Still, the fashion group intends to keep a close eye on its expenses in the second half of the year.

On the long term, LVMH is excited about its new collaborations with Stella McCartney – who is leaving rival Kering to join the Arnault group – and with Rihanna. The group also keeps pursuing digitisation and the Asian market.