Swiss luxury group Richemont has achieved another strong quarterly growth, but there are worrying signs from Japan and Hong Kong.
Jewellery as engine for growth
In the third quarter of its broken financial year, Richemont raised its turnover by 6.1 % to 4.16 billion euros, a growth that would have been (4 % excluding exchange rate effects). The fastest growth was achieved in Europe (+ 9 %) and the Americas (+ 5 %). Japanese sales went down by 7 %, but positive exchange rate effects lowered the deficit to just 1 %. According to Richemont, the sales drop was due to lower spendings by tourists and a VAT rise in October.
Offline sales went up 5 %, exactly matching the online sales growth, despite the adverse impact of temporary store closures in Hong Kong. Growth in China and the United States (online) was remarkable, but was partly offset by the minor growth of Richemont’s wholesale activities (just + 2 %).
Jewellery remains Richemont’s largest branch, and is also its fastest grower – it now accounts for more than the luxury group’s total turnover. Especially Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Buccellati saw their turnover rise sharply last quarter.
