Richemont Sales Up 37%, Jewelry Sales Up 32%, Watch Sales Up 38%

Richemont headquarters

Luxury goods group Cie. Financiere Richemont said Friday that year-over-year sales for the six months of 2010 increased 37 percent to 3.26 billion euros ($4.47 billion). At constant exchange rates (excluding currency fluctuations and other conditions) the increase was 27 percent for the period ended September 30. When removing the company’s recent acquisition of Internet retailer Net-A-Porter.com, sales increased by 22 percent.

The Geneva-based company said the strong growth in sales reflects, in part, low comparative figures in the prior period, when reported Group sales decreased by 15 percent.

Profit for the period rose 87 percent to 644 million euros ($883 million) and operating profit increased by 95 percent.

Its jewelry business (which includes Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Piaget) saw its sales increase 32 percent to 1.69 billion euros ($2.31 billion) for the period. Both Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels saw double-digit sales growth, Richemont said.

Watch sales (which include Vacheron Constantin, Baume & Mercier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lange & Söhne and IWC) rose 38 percent to 901 million euros ($1.23 billion).

Overall Group sales as measured by constant exchange rates increased 37 percent in the Americas, 36 percent in Asia-Pacific, 23 percent in Europe and 4 percent in Japan.

Johann Rupert, Richemont executive chairman and CEO, stressed that the strong sales figures benefited from favorable exchange rates and better economic conditions when compared to the post-recession prior year and cautioned that growth may slow during the second half of the year.

“The good performance achieved by Richemont in the first half of this year has been driven by a marked improvement in all business areas and across all geographies compared to the depressed levels seen last year,” Rupert said. “Richemont’s Maisons were able to benefit fully from this improved trading environment, further enhancing their leading positions in jewelry, watchmaking, writing instruments and accessories. … The robust sales momentum that the Group has seen for several months has continued through to the end of October; sales for the month were 36 per cent above those of October 2009 at actual exchange rates.”

He added, “For the second half of the financial year, we expect the high rate of growth in sales seen in the year to date to slow as a consequence of exchange rate movements and the more challenging prior year comparatives.”

Frederique Constant Claims Record Sales in 2010

Luxury Swiss watch brand Frederique Constant Geneve said 2010 sales grew by 45 percent year-over-year and 23 percent higher than in 2008. The company also said it sold more than 100,000 units for the year, a new record.

Peter Stas, Frederique Constant founder and CEO, said all regions reported “very significant increase in activity” for the year. This growth will continue in 2011.

The company’s statement, released Friday, did not include actual sales totals.

“Russia and Japan returned to sales growth. Strong growth continues in North America and Asia. Europe keeps its solid position in the sales charts,” Stas said. “We are proud to have reached our best year ever, and it clearly proves that our product proposition—accessible luxury—continues to have great potential.”

LVMH Watch and Jewelry Sales Up 29% in 2010

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton annual watches and jewelry sales grew by 29 percent in 2010 to 985 million euros ($1.34 billion) and profit from recurring operations doubled. Watch and jewelry brands gained market share across all regions.

For its 150th anniversary, TAG Heuer successfully launched a new watch movement and enhanced its presence in Asia, the company said. Hublot benefited from the growing success of the Big Bang and King Power collections, continued to increase its high-end offering and integrated its workshop of high-end watch making. Zenith found a new strong momentum with its new collections and the El Primero movement. The jewelry brands Chaumet, De Beers and Fred registered solid revenue growth in their European and Asian store networks.

Overall, the world’s leading luxury products group reported a 19 percent increase in revenue in 2010 to 20.3 billion euros ($27.67 billion), exceeding the 20 billion euro mark for the first time. All business groups saw excellent momentum in Europe, Asia and the United States. Louis Vuitton, in particular, once again recorded double-digit revenue growth during the year.

Revenue increased by 20 percent in the fourth quarter with organic growth rising 13 percent, the luxury group said February 4. Profit from recurring operations increased by 29 percent to 4.32 billion euros ($5.88 billion). The current operating margin improved by 1.6 percentage points to reach 21.3 percent in 2010 with all businesses contributing to this performance. Group share of net profit was 3.03 billion euros ($4.12 billion).

“2010 was a great vintage for LVMH,” said Bernard Arnault, LVMH chairman and CEO. “The quality of our products, the originality of our brands and the talent of our teams bolstered by the economic recovery allowed us once again to gain market share throughout the world. In 2011, LVMH intends to further strengthen its global leadership position in high quality products by relying on its sound long term strategy.”