Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods holding company led by South African billionaire Johann Rupert, released its trading update today for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2023, revealing robust sales as the group capitalizes on the positive momentum from the first half of the fiscal year.
The group’s sales increased by 18 percent at actual exchange rates for the nine-month period ending Dec. 31, 2022 on top of significant growth the previous year.
The group’s Jewelry Masons sales increased by 19 percent, fueled by strong performances by Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, while Specialist Watchmakers’ sales rose by 13 percent.
During the period under review, the group’s sales surpassed €15 billion ($16.3 billion), up from €12.77 billion ($13.9 billion) in the first nine months of its 2022 fiscal year thanks to a rise in sales in Japan from less than €855 million ($929 million) in 2022 to nearly €1.29 billion ($1.4 billion), while sales in Europe performed better than expected despite geopolitical tensions sparked by the Ukraine war.
Its biggest market, Asia-Pacific, which includes sales from mainland China, took a seven-percent hit at constant rates as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which swept through China’s largest city, causing millions of people to be locked down in major financial centers and hubs such as Shanghai.
Nine-month sales in Middle East and Africa surpass $1.25-billion milestone
Richemont’s sales in the Middle East and Africa surpassed the $1-billion mark during the period under review, rising from €940 million ($1.02 billion) in the first nine months of 2022 to €1.158 billion ($1.26 billion) at the end of the group’s first nine months of 2023.
The increase is consistent with an earlier report by Barclays Plc, which stated that Johann Rupert’s Richemont and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, a luxury goods conglomerate owned by the world’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, are set to benefit from the Middle East, which is expected to become one of the fastest-growing markets for luxury goods in 2023.
According to Barclays, the Middle East will be one of the fastest-growing markets for luxury goods in 2023, with high oil prices, buoyant economic conditions, and demographic trends all contributing to this upbeat outlook, as leading cities in the region such as Dubai continue to focus on attracting tourists and foreign expatriates.
