Richemont, the Cartier to Montblanc luxury goods group, has raised fears that China is still an issue for the sector after its third-quarter sales missed expectations.
Sales were up 3% to €2.94 billion but demand for its expensive watches in China waned. The Swiss group’s figures are in contrast to luxury fashion brand Burberry which yesterday reported a rise in sales growth in the region.
The group, which also owns online retailer Net-a-Porter.com and clothing brands including Chloé, reported organic sales up 9% compared to analysts expecting a 12% rise.
Richemont said wholesalers, particularly in the Asian-Pacific region, were cautious.
The group’s watches and jewellery have been hit by a Chinese crackdown on alleged gif giving and bribes at a government level. A number of luxury brands have been hit by the change.
Allegra Perry, luxury goods analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, said that despite it being a year on since the “implementation of anti-gifting measures in fall 2012” and the “potential uplift from the earlier timing of Chinese New Year” Richemont’s Chinese sales growth was still weak.
She added: “We believe Richemont is well positioned with Cartier in the high growth and highly fragmented jewellery segment but we believe high-end watches in China remain under pressure.”
Swiss watch exports to China were down 15% for the eleven months to November.
