Retail News CRM

Tag: Watchfinder

  • Richemont Group sales soars after YNAP acquisitions

    Richemont Group sales soars after YNAP acquisitions

    Richemont Group sales soared 24 per cent in December quarter, to €3.915 billion. It was largely down to the inclusion of online acquisitions Yoox-Net-A-Porter (YNAP) and Watchfinder, which were consolidated into the group’s accounts on May 1 and June 1, respectively. But even excluding that, the sales growth was still strong at 5 per cent by constant exchange rates.

    By region, European sales accelerated at twice the rate of Asia, up 35 per cent at constant exchange rates, with Asia Pacific – still the company’s largest single geographic market – up by 17 per cent.

    Sales in Europe reached €1.147 billion in the quarter, and in Asia €1.389 billion. Sales in the Americas surged 41 per cent to €801 million and in Japan by 14 per cent to €344 million.

    The only market where Richemont failed to perform was the Middle East and Africa, where sales slipped 3 per cent to €234 million.

    The company’s largest category, jewellery maisons, recorded 8 per cent growth to €1.985 billion, while Richemont said YNAP posted double-digit growth across all regions and solid performances across all its categories. Watchfinder’s sales expanded “more moderately”.

    Excluding the new online business unit, Richemont Group sales grew in all regions, with the exception of the Middle East and Europe. During the latter part of the quarter, sales in Europe were affected by social unrest in France which impacted tourism and led to store closures for six consecutive Saturdays. The disposal of Lancel in June also impacted the year-on-year comparison.

    A 10 per cent increase in sales in Asia Pacific reflected double-digit sales growth in Mainland China and good increases in other main markets. Sales growth in Hong Kong slowed, primarily due to the strength of the Hong Kong dollar versus the renminbi that resulted in lower tourist spending.

    In Japan, a 7 per cent expansion in sales was fuelled by continued domestic and tourist spending as well as the impact of newly opened directly operated boutiques.

    Sales in the Americas rose by 9 per cent, primarily driven by the jewellery maisons.

    Of Richemont’s many brands, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels led the way, increasing sales by 8 per cent, driven by jewellery and watches.

    Richemont operates in four business areas: jewellery maisons, being Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels; specialist watchmakers, being A. Lange & Sohne, Baume & Mercier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Officine Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis and Vacheron Constantin; online distributors, being YNAP and Watchfinder; and other businesses, including Alfred Dunhill, Azzedine Alaïa, Chloe, Montblanc and Peter Millar.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Yoox Net-A-Porter acquisition boosts Richemont sales

    Yoox Net-A-Porter acquisition boosts Richemont sales

    Richemont sales in Asia Pacific surged 20 per cent in the first half of this year with the region the group’s single-largest market, accounting for 37 per cent of total sales.

    The increase was fuelled by the inclusion of the Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) business into the Swiss-headquartered multibrand luxury retailers figures for the first time. Excluding YNAP and Uk online retailer Watchfinder, sales rose 14 per cent, driven by a net 20 new store openings and “high single-digit growth” in Mainland China and double-digit growth in Hong Kong, Macau and Korea.

    “Both the retail and wholesale channels saw double-digit growth, with strong performances in jewellery and watch sales,” the company said in a statement.

    In Japan, a 14 per cent growth in sales was driven by higher domestic and tourist spending, which benefited from a comparatively weaker yen. Excluding online distributors, sales in the region increased by 8 per cent, led by a double-digit growth in watch sales and the net opening of five directly operated boutiques. Japan represents 8 per cent of overall sales.

    Group-wide global sales rose by 21 per cent at actual exchange rates to €6.808 billion and by 24 per cent at constant exchange rates. Online retail sales, now reported separately following the e-commerce acquisitions, amounted to 14 per cent of group sales.

    Excluding YNAP and Watchfinder, sales rose by 6 per cent at actual exchange rates and by 8 per cent at constant exchange rates.

    Operating profit of €1.130 billion was down €36 million due to acquisition and disposal-related charges of €159 million, the company said. Excluding the impact of first-time consolidation of YNAP and Watchfinder, operating margin improved to 21.1 per cent. Profit for the period rose to €2.253 million primarily due to a post-tax non-cash gain of €1.378 billion on the revaluation of YNAP shares held prior to buy-out.

    Chairman Johann Rupert said offline Richemont sales growth was primarily driven by strong performance of the jewellery maisons and double-digit increases in the maisons’ directly operated boutiques and online stores.

    “Robust retail sales in jewellery and watches more than offset a 2 per cent decline in wholesale sales, which was mainly due to the specialist watchmakers’ ongoing prudent inventory management and upgrade of the wholesale distribution network,” said Rupert.

    “In our jewellery maisons, watch sales grew strongly in Cartier’s stores, benefiting from the successful Panthere and relaunched Santos collections. Jewellery pieces continued to outperform, notably with the iconic Cartier Love and Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra collections.”

    He said while growth was muted for specialist watchmakers, retail was strong and there was good momentum at Vacheron Constantin, Roger Dubuis and JaegerLeCoultre.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: