Jewelry Only Positive Segment for LVMH at Start of Year

First-quarter sales at LVMH slipped amid a downturn in luxury as the market saw economic and political challenges, with jewelry the only category to record an increase. 

Revenue for the watch and jewelry division rose 1% year on year to EUR 2.48 billion ($2.81 billion) during the three months that ended March 31, LVMH said Tuesday. 

Tiffany & Co. “enjoyed excellent growth across all of its iconic lines,” LVMH chief financial officer Cecile Cabanis observed in an analyst call transcribed by Seeking Alpha. The continued renovation of the jeweler’s stores also proved positive for the French luxury conglomerate.  

“We had great progress on the execution of the transformation plan of Tiffany with both the iconic range and the renovated stores…and it’s paying off,” Cabanis explained. “Bulgari is very much resilient [and] enjoyed quite a good Chinese New Year. We had quite [a] good response at Watches and Wonders [Geneva show]. TAG Heuer is doing very well.” 

Group revenue fell 2% to EUR 20.31 billion ($23.05 billion) during the quarter. 

Sales in Europe were strong, but a slight decline in the US, as well as in Japan — which did not receive a similar boost from Chinese tourist spending as it did during the same period a year ago — overshadowed these gains. Sales throughout the rest of Asia were comparable to the previous year.