In the first quarter of the financial year, Compagnie Financière Richemont augmented their sales by 12% at actual rates of exchange and by 9% at fixed rates of exchange, compared to the same period of the year before. Therefore, the Swiss luxury group reached over 3.7 billion euros, in terms of revenues. The company announced, in a press release, that sales increased by 6% at actual rates of exchange and by 3% at fixed rates of exchange, not considering online suppliers.
The importance of China and digital experience
Not considering the online channel, business growth in double figures, in Japan and Asia-Pacific area, considerably offset decreasing sales in Europe, Middle East and Africa. In China, lower VAT percentages and customs duties fostered sales, whereas in Hong Kong a relatively strong currency, the local dollar, alongside recent public riots, affected the brand revenues. The company has made clear that their first quarter turnover includes sales for Yoox Net-A-Porter Group, for two months, and Watchfinder & Co., for one month. Both of them increased their incomes in double figures in the period.
Leather goods slow down
In Europe, sales have been dropping by 1%, compared to the same quarter of the previous year. On the one hand, jewellery houses enjoyed a dynamic and positive trend; on the other hand, the other business areas (including leather goods) went through a slower performance, therefore suffering from a controversial trend in the markets. Talking about sales overall, watches decreased by 2%, while leather goods, which Richemont still add to the “Other” segment, dropped by 3%, also considering the effects of Lancel divestiture (which took place in June 2018). Yet, if one does not consider such impact, sales went down by 1%. Peter Millar rewarding performance has been negatively counterbalanced by less positive accomplishments achieved by the other houses, such as Dunhill, Alaïa, Chloé and Montblanc.
