ZURICH: Richemont confirmed the slowdown in the luxury sector when the Cartier jewellery owner reported a drop of 1% in its fourth quarter sales on Friday.
The company, which also owns high-end Swiss watch brands, such as Piaget and Jaeger-LeCoultre, said sales fell to 4.80 billion euros ($5.21 billion) in the three months to the end of March.
In constant currencies, sales increased by 2%, a slowdown from the 8% growth rate in the previous quarter, which covered the three months to the end of December.
Still, the Q4 figure was slightly ahead of a consensus forecast for 4.78 billion euros cited by RBC.
For the full year to the end of March, Richemont’s sales rose 3% to 20.62 billion euros, while shareholders’ full-year net profit of 2.36 billion euros missed the 3.09 billion euros in the consensus compiled by Visible Alpha.
“Richemont delivered a solid underlying performance … whilst successfully facing unfavourable foreign exchange movements, demanding comparatives, and ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty,” Chairman Johann Rupert said in a statement.
In a separate statement, the company announced the promotion of Van Cleef & Arpels Chief Executive Nicolas Bos to become CEO of the group.
Current CEO Jerome Lambert – who has held his position since 2018 – will continue as chief operating officer, Richemont said, reporting to Bos when he takes up his new role on June 1.
The performance confirmed a downward trend in the luxury sector which has been buffeted by tepid Chinese demand and comparisons with last year, when the lifting of COVID-19 curbs in China supercharged sales.
Globally, customers have also become more selective about expensive purchases as the costs of living rises.
Sales updates from several leading luxury groups have offered little reassurance that Chinese demand for high-end fashion is bouncing back.
LVMH’s sales slowed to 3% in the first quarter, the French group reported last month, as rising prices prompted shoppers to refrain from splashing out thousands of dollars on handbags and other accessories.
