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Reuters
Published
Jul 24, 2019
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Sales at Vuitton, Dior division boosts LVMH in second quarter

By
Reuters
Published
Jul 24, 2019

Luxury goods group LVMH on Wednesday posted better-than-expected second quarter revenue, lifted by accelerating momentum in its fashion and handbag division that houses its Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior megabrands.


Dior Homme - Spring-Summer2020 - Menswear - Paris - © PixelFormula


LVMH, whose labels also include champagne maker Moet & Chandon, said second quarter sales rose 15% to 12.5 billion euro ($13.93 billion) euros, up 12% at stable exchange rates and a comparable number of stores. Analysts had expected like-for-like sales growth of around 10% in the period.

For the six months to end-June, LVMH’s earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) rose 14% to 5.3 billion euros, a touch below forecasts. Operating margins were a touch below forecasts, however, at 21.1%, in part due the step-up in spending on advertising and its brands.

The French conglomerate also attributed growth to strong Chinese demand and investments in marketing and new designs.

​“With Chinese customers, there was a noticeable improvement between the first quarter and the second quarter,” LVMH’s Financial Director Jean-Jacques Guiony told analysts.

Its Christian Dior brand, while still estimated to be less than a third of Vuitton’s size, was also one of the standouts of the second quarter, with sales growth exceeding the 20% of the broader fashion and leather goods unit, according to Guiony.

Within Paris-based LVMH, Vuitton is betting on temporary pop-up stores to spike consumer interest and has turned to DJ-turned-designer Virgil Abloh to grow its menswear lines.

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