Sales at French luxury giant LVMH grew by 20 per cent in the third quarter, fuelled by appetite for high-end fashion from consumers eager to splash out following months of pandemic lockdowns.
LVMH, which sells a range of luxury products spanning Moet & Chandon champagne and Bulgari timepieces, said on Tuesday like-for-like sales, stripping out the effect of foreign exchange fluctuations, rose to €15.51 billion in the three months to September.
Growth was roughly in line with an analyst consensus forecast for a 21 per cent rise cited by Barclays, after a stellar second quarter which saw revenues surge by 84 per cent.
Compared to 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, sales at the end of September were 11 per cent higher, the same rate as in the first half.
LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division, the group’s largest business accounting for nearly half of group sales, posted 24 per cent growth, lifted by the popularity of its star labels Louis Vuitton and Dior.
The luxury goods sector has bounced back strongly from the health crisis, even if international travel, a key growth driver in pre-pandemic times, has not fully resumed, with spending from Chinese shoppers, for example, now taking place on a local level.
“Within the context of a gradual exit from the health crisis, the group is confident in the continuation of the current growth,” LVMH said in a statement. – Reuters
