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LVMH report record breaking sales as luxury retail continues to thrive
By Rose Adams | 12 April 2018 | Style, Wealth
The luxury retail brand shares results of first financial quarter
* Louis Vuitton remains LVMH’s biggest driver of profits
Luxury goods giant LVMH, owner of global retail brands such as Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon, Christian Dior and Givenchy, enjoyed an exceptionally positive result at the end of the first financial quarter, as they announced a rise in organic sales of fashion and leather goods by a record 13% to £9.45billion – continuing an encouraging trend seen throughout the luxury fashion industry in the last few months.
On Tuesday 10 April the group reported that revenues in Asia increased 21% in the January to March period, with the reason for the significant jump being credited to affluent Chinese consumers, predominantly of a younger audience, and with fashion house Louis Vuitton remaining LVMH’s biggest source of profit. This greatly exceeded the £9.28bn expected by analysts polled for Reuters.
Speaking to an analyst conference call, finance chief Jean-Jacques Guiony said: “We had a good start to the year and we expect these good trends to continue.” While the group are yet to disclose breakdowns for each of its individual brands, it did reveal that Louis Vuitton, who has enlisted Virgil Abloh as its new men’s wear collection artistic director, has enjoyed a ‘remarkable’ start to the year, and Christian Dior Couture enjoyed ‘an excellent performance.’
Related: The luxury fashion shake up: Berluti, Burberry and Givenchy lead the runway revamp
* Luxury goods giant LVMH enjoyed an exceptionally positive result at the end of the first financial quarter
But it wasn’t just fashion where sales grew, revenues rose across all of their main shopping sectors including wines and spirits such as Hennessey up 10%, perfumes and cosmetics including Givenchy Parfums up 17%, and watches and jewellery such as Hublot up 20%.
The group’s competitors, Kering, which own Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, also enjoyed a spike in sales with trading 3.3% higher, while British house Burberry increased by 1.7%, with luxury groups Hermès International and Richemont also reporting increased revenues In the same period.
With a net worth of £50 billion, LMVH’s Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault is the fourth richest individual in the world and the richest man in Europe, according to Forbes.