Richemont missed the mark in the first-half but its jewelry sales remained strong, with Van Cleef and Cartier leading the charge alongside the luxury titan’s e-commerce sites.
First-half sales totaled €7.40 billion ($8.16 billion), a 6 percent increase at constant exchange rates, but lower than the €7.49 billion ($8.26 billion) analysts had expected.
Sales increased just 2 percent on a comparable basis, excluding online sales.
Retail sales (sales at Richemont-owned and operated boutiques) grew 4 percent at constant exchange rates, seeing growth in all regions except the United States where sales were “stable.”
Wholesale sales were down 1 percent at constant exchange rates with growth in Japan and Asia-Pacific outweighed by declines in other regions.
The jewelry houses generated higher wholesale sales compared with other areas, noted Richemont.
Online sales jumped 28 percent with “significant progress” seen in all regions, particularly in the Americas, Middle East and Africa. The double-digit boost is due in part to the recently acquired Yoox Net-A-Porter Group and Watchfinder & Co. being included for the full six-month period.
Sales in Richemont’s jewelry division were up 8 percent to €3.74 billion ($4.13 billion).
Sales at Cartier and Van Cleef were driven by a high-single digit increase in jewelry and a low-single digit increase in watches, Richemont said, with “noteworthy performances” in the Asia-Pacific region and Japan.
Cartier’s Panthère and Santos watch collections did particularly well. The launch of its new Clash collection was a success, Richemont said, with production ramping up ahead of the holiday season to address unmet demand.
