Bluebell Capital wants South African billionaire Johann Rupert’s Richemont to focus on jewelry, watches

Bluebell Capital Partners, a UK fund manager, has stated that it wants Swiss luxury goods holding Richemont to focus on its core operations, which include jewelry and watches.

Richemont is led by South African billionaire Johann Rupert.

According to Reuters, the London-based investor, which has held a CHF105-million ($108 million) stake in Richemont for nearly two years, stated on Wednesday that focusing on its core operations, including jewelry and watches, could see Richemont’s share price double in the medium term.

Marco Taricco, a partner at Bluebell Capital, stated that renaming itself the Cartier Group to capitalize on its “fantastic, iconic brand” would help Richemont narrow its valuation discount to French group Hermes.

“We’d like them to focus on what they’re good at, which is hard luxury—jewelry and watches,” he said, adding that the luxury goods group made a mistake by purchasing the loss-making online retail business Net-a-Porter YOOX (YNAP).

The statement comes nearly a week after Richemont reported a double-digit increase in sales in the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year.

According to the sales report, Richemont’s total sales rose by 20 percent in the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, from €4.4 billion ($4.42 billion) in the same quarter of 2022 to €5.26 billion ($5.28 billion). Despite the impact, sales increased in April and May due to a rebound in demand for watches and jewelry.

The double-digit increase in sales can be attributed to higher sales in the United States, Europe, and Japan in the three months leading up to June, which offset a 37-percent drop in total sales in Mainland China due to economic weakness and the impact of a new wave of lockdowns resulting in store closures.

Rupert, a leading South African businessman who derives the majority of his net worth from his stake in Richemont, has increased his net worth by $570 million, from $8.62 billion to $9.19 billion, since the luxury goods group reported a double-digit increase in sales in the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal period.

This is $330 million more than the figures reported by Billionaires.Africa on Tues., July 19.

The recent increase in his net worth can be attributed to investors’ reaction to the sales report, which sparked renewed buying interest in Richemont shares.