Richemont’s Jewelry Sales Up Double Digits in Q3
Buccellati, Cartier, and Van Cleef & Arpels posted strong sales in the luxury titan’s third quarter.
The luxury conglomerate, which owns high-end brands like Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, posted sales growth in all regions except Asia Pacific as COVID restrictions hampered the mainland China market.
For the third quarter ending Dec. 31, Richemont posted sales of €5.4 billion ($5.9 billion), a 5 percent year-over-year increase at actual exchange rates.
The quarter was up against a tough comparable, with last year’s Q3 sales up 32 percent.
Growth was led by retail and its online channels, said Richemont, with sales up 6 percent year-over-year in each category.
Online sales now account for 7 percent of group sales while direct-to-consumer sales make up 76 percent of total sales. Wholesale sales were up 1 percent, hurt by the impact of trading in the Asia Pacific region.
Third quarter jewelry sales were up 11 percent year-over-year to €3.7 billion ($4 billion), bolstered by strong sales at Buccellati, Cartier, and Van Cleef & Arpels.
As with overall sales, all regions posted growth except Asia Pacific.
Watch sales were down 3 percent to €952 million ($1 billion), as sales in Asia Pacific, which account for nearly half of sales in the category, declined double digits. The steep drop offset double-digit increases in Europe and Japan.
Richemont’s watch portfolio includes A. Lange & Söhne, IWC Schaffhausen, Officine Panerai, and Vacheron Constantin.
By region, Japan posted the strongest year-over-year growth, up 30 percent, followed by the Middle East and Africa, up 20 percent, then Europe, with sales up 17 percent.
Sales growth in the Americas came in last place with 16 percent growth, which the company attributed to more purchases being made abroad due to the strong U.S. dollar.
Sales to U.S. customers were solid, said Richemont, up by high-single digits.
In the Asia Pacific region, sales were down 7 percent, with mainland China posting double-digit declines.
“The massive increase of COVID cases negatively impacted customer traffic and, due to staff unavailability, led to a reduction of boutique opening hours or temporary closures of points of sale in mainland China, leading to a sales drop of 24 percent during the period under review,” said Richemont.
Looking at Richemont’s nine-month performance, overall sales were up 18 percent at actual exchange rates, building off a strong comparable of 55 percent growth in the previous year’s period.
The company did not provide guidance for the remainder of its fiscal year.
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