Fine jewelry and demand in Japan and Mainland China boosted Richemont’s holiday sales amid a difficult period for luxury goods.
In a trading update, Compagnie Financière Richemont said sales in the third fiscal quarter, which runs from October through December, rose 4 percent at actual exchange rates to 5.6 billion euros. At constant exchange, growth was 8 percent.
That compares with the first six months, when Richemont saw revenue climb by 6 percent at actual rates and 12 percent at constant ones.
The group, which owns brands including Cartier, Chloé and Van Cleef & Arpels, said it achieved the results despite “a continued uncertain macro-economic and geopolitical environment.”
Jewelry was the only category to post gains at actual rates. Revenue grew 6 percent to nearly 4 billion euros, while the specialist watchmakers and other divisions saw their sales decline by 1 percent and 4 percent respectively.
By region, Japan and Asia-Pacific each grew by 8 percent at actual rates, helped by favorable comparisons with the corresponding period last year, currency tailwinds, and a 25 percent uptick in Mainland China.
The Americas region grew by 3 percent while Europe declined by 4 percent. Richemont said sales in the Americas were boosted by a “resilient economy,” and added that locals had chosen to make their holiday purchases at home rather than in Europe.
The third quarter was a challenging period for Richemont due to the overall slowdown in luxury, and the collapse of its deal to sell Yoox Net-a-porter to Farfetch and Alabbar.
As reported, Coupang purchased the troubled Farfetch shortly before Christmas when the YNAP deal was to have been finalized.
Richemont has not commented on its future plans for YNAP, and the company is currently classified as “discontinued operations” on the books.
In the third quarter, Richemont said sales at YNAP were down 14 percent at actual rates and 11 percent at constant exchange in what the luxury giant described as “a continued challenging environment for pure play online distributors.”
