LVMH sees slower luxury sales in third quarter

Louis Vuitton trunk in Asnieres-sur-Seine near Paris French luxury conglomerate LVMH said it remains confident for 2013 despite releasing Tuesday sales figures showing a dip in sales for its fashion, watches and perfumes businesses. Overall sales for the group which owns Louis Vuitton , Givenchy, Guerlain and many other luxury brands rose by 1.74 percent in the third quarter to 7.02 billion euros ($9.47 billion), which missed analyst expectations for growth of around 4 percent, and was a slowdown from the 5.7 percent growth registered in the second quarter.
Sales for the first nine months of the year rose by 4 percent to 20.7 billion euros, considerably less than the 22 percent growth registered in the same period last year.
However sales in LVMH's key Fashion and Leather Goods unit slid by 3.8 percent to 2.43 billion euros in the third quarter and were down by 1 percent for the nine months.
Sales in the Watches and Jewellery unit dipped 1.9 percent and declined by 2.1 percent in the Perfumes and Cosmetics segment in the third quarter compared to the same period last year.
Sales in the Wines and Spirits and Selective Retailing segments improved.
LVMH said in a statement that it "remains confident for 2013... despite the uncertain economic environment in Europe."
The group posted a net profit of 1.58 billion euros in the first half of the year.
Source: AFP