Richemont reported an 8 per cent increase in jewellery sales for the financial year, reaching €15.33 billion ($AUD26.77 billion). Rising revenue was noted in all regions except Asia.
Sales among the company’s jewellery brands, which include Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Buccellati, were positive, offsetting declining revenue among watch brands.
Richemont CEO Nicolas Bos said that despite adverse economic factors impacting the luxury industry, it was pleasing to see jewellery brands prove resilient.
“There are very good dynamics around our various jewellery maisons [brands] — Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccellati or Vhernier — which we just integrated,” he explained.
“We see a very active and positive market around these maisons [brands]. We don’t know what the year that’s upcoming is going to look like, but last quarter was a good signal.”
Chair Johann Rupert discussed the negative impact that price rises appeared to have on competitors, suggesting that prioritising long-term relationships with customers was important.
Sales among watch brands, which include Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, and IWC Schaffhausen, declined by 13 per cent. Richemont’s total sales for the year reached €21.4 billion ($AUD37.37 billion), a 4 per cent improvement, while profit rose by 17 per cent.
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