The announcement came as the company reported a 23 percent drop in production in Q1.
Jewelry, watch sales stand out for LVMH
The Paris-based luxury goods conglomerate reported Tuesday that its Watches & Jewelry division saw sales increase by double digits in the first half of the year, led by Bulgari.
Paris--LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported Tuesday that its Watches & Jewelry division saw sales grow by a double-digit percentage in the first half of the year, led by Bulgari.
Watches & Jewelry sales totaled $1.72 billion in the first six months of 2015, compared with $1.40 billion in the same time period last year, an increase of 23 percent. At constant exchange rates and with comparable structure, watch and jewelry sales were up 10 percent.
Profits for the division nearly doubled, jumping 91 percent year-over-year.
The company’s watch and jewelry brands, which include Bulgari, TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith, posted the largest year-over-year increase of any of LVMH’s divisions. It outperformed Fashion & Leather Goods, the division that sells Louis Vuitton brand purses and wallets, and Selective Retailing, which includes the popular Sephora chain of cosmetics stores.
LVMH said overall, its jewelry sales showed “strong growth” while retailers that carry its watches remained cautious in purchasing.
On a brand-by-brand basis, Bulgari sales were strong, driven by its iconic jewelry collections and new woman’s watch, the Lucea.
TAG Heuer, meanwhile, “continued to refocus its core offering,” and concluded its partnership with Intel and Google to develop a smartwatch. In late April, Jean-Claude Biver revealed to Bloomberg that the TAG smartwatch will be released in October or November and cost $1,400 at retail. TAG announced its plans for a smartwatch at Baselworld in March but provided few details at that time.
Total sales for LVMH in the first half of the year reached $8.47 billion, an increase of 6 percent year-over-year with comparable structure and constant exchange rates. Profit from recurring operations was $3.31 billion, up 15 percent year-over-year.
LMVH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault said the company had “excellent” results in the first half because of the strength of its brands and its “entrepreneurial style” of management. He said the company is confident about its prospects for the remainder of 2015.
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