LVMH reported revenues of 15.5 billion euros (AUD$24.24 billion) for its third fiscal quarter. A result that exceeded analysts’ expectations and pushed the performance of the world’s largest luxury goods group to 44.2 billion euros (AUD$69.15 billion) for the first nine months of the year. A rise of 46 per cent by contrast to the same period in 2020.
Asia accounted for 38 per cent of overall revenues, followed by the US with a 25 per cent share of sales.
Fashion and leather goods are the multinational’s number one cash cow and organic growth from January to September rose 57 per cent to 21.3 billion euros (AUD$33.32 billion).
The company’s Perfumes and Cosmetics division also performed strongly with an upsurge of 30 per cent in the first nine months of the year to 4.66 billion euros (AUD$7.29 billion).
Parfums Christian Dior delivered powerhouse growth, underpinned by global sales of Miss Dior eau de parfum and Sauvage Elixir. The popularity of Dior’s Collection Privee and Capture Totale skincare also boosted the bottom line.
Guerlain was another success story, fuelled by the Abeille Royale and Orchidee Imperiale skincare franchises. Maison Francis Kurkdjian also kicked goals over the period with the debut of the Aqua Cologne Forte range and continued demand for Baccarat Rouge 540, the unisex floral created for the 250th anniversary of the iconic French crystal maker.
Sephora is the jewel of LVMH’s Selective Retailing division. The speciality beauty chain returned to its 2019 revenue level as online sales soared in major regional markets.
Sephora’s ongoing growth was also driven by the debut of its first concept stores in Kohl’s department stores in the US, the partnership with online heavyweight Zalando in Europe and the acquisition of Feelunique in the UK.
With the world opening up again, LVMH is upbeat about a rebound in travel retail. The DFS Group, the world’s leading travel retailer, is a subsidiary of the multinational and operates 420 duty-free locations in airports, downtown stores and select resort destinations globally.
DFS has three locations in Australia and New Zealand – in Sydney, Cairns and Auckland. In February, the company announced it would open a T Galleria store at Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane, scheduled to launch in late 2022.