LONDON – Robust watch and jewelry demand from local clients fueled a 20 percent rise in fiscal first-quarter sales, Richemont said in a trading update on Wednesday.
At actual rates, sales were up 17 percent to 6.33 billion euros in the three months ended June 30. All regions except for the Middle East notched double-digit gains.
The four jewelry maisons – Buccellati, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Vhernier – posted a “remarkable” combined 24 percent rise in sales to 4.73 billion euros, according to Richemont, marking a seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
Richemont added the maisons’ jewelry and watches performed strongly against a volatile macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop, with sales fueled by innovations and signature lines.
At the specialist watch division, sales were up 8 percent to 873 million euros at constant exchange, with Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre and A. Lange & Söhne driving growth. Richemont said the Americas and Japan performed strongly, while Asia-Pacific remained “stable,” with declines in China, Hong Kong and Macau.
