The Tamesis
Richemont Group maintains strong sales momentum during the 2025 holiday period, providing a positive signal for its upcoming fourth-quarter earnings.
Group sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, which ended on December 31, rose 11% year-on-year to 6.4 billion euros at constant exchange rates, beating consensus expectations for an 8% increase. During the same period last year, the Swiss conglomerate’s sales rose 10%, driven by a post-election shopping frenzy in the United States. But continued growth in jewelry and the U.S. helped boost third-quarter sales. “For the nth time it has been proven that comparisons are more important than category and brand momentum. The jewelry industry has strong momentum and Richemont dominates [the category] Bernstein luxury goods analyst Luca Solca writes.
Luxury earnings season kicked off earlier this week, with Brunello Cucinelli reporting revenue growth of 12%. Following Richemont, LVMH will report annual earnings later this month. Jeffries analysts noted: “[Richemont’s] Defeat should embolden long-term believers in the broader industry, even if this still appears to be a very U.S.-biased dynamic. “
Richemont’s sales in the Americas rose 14%, driven by “continued strong local demand,” the company said. Meanwhile, in Europe, sales rose 8%, “driven by local demand and supportive visitor spending, particularly from customers in North America and the Middle East”. The Asia-Pacific region grew by 6%, with mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau growing by 2%, confirming the stabilization after sales resumed growth in the second quarter. Sales in Japan increased by 17%, while the Middle East and Africa region had the highest growth, with sales increasing by 20%.
By sector, jewelery including Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels led the way, growing 14%, beating expectations (consensus was 10%). “Led by iconic product lines, both jewelery and watches grew strongly, driven by attractive novelties and impactful communications,” the company said. Sales at Richemont’s professional watchmaking brands, including IWC Schaffhausen, Piaget and Jaeger-LeCoultre, rose 7% and also exceeded flat sales expectations, posting growth for the second consecutive quarter. Fashion and accessories brands including Chloé, Montblanc and Alaïa posted 3% growth under Pieter Mulier [at Alaïa] Richemont said: “Gianvito Rossi and Gianvito Rossi have shown strong momentum.
Jewelry has proven to be more resilient than other luxury segments during the downturn in the luxury industry. Richemont’s string of results put to rest concerns among some investors that rising gold prices, along with new creativity and more accessible price points for ready-to-wear and leather goods, could lead to a shift in spending that could end the jewelry category’s supercycle. “While these concerns are legitimate, there is currently no evidence that jewelry’s outperformance has been eroded,” said Édouard Aubin, managing director at Morgan Stanley. fashion business before earnings season.
