Richemont Q1 sales up 14 percent as Asia offsets 'muted' America performance

Swiss luxury giant Richemont has reported a 14 percent increase in revenue in the first quarter as its Asia market continued to recover post-pandemic and offset a drop in sales in the Americas.

Sales were up 19 percent at constant exchange rates.

The group, whose portfolio includes Chloé and Cartier, reported growth across all business areas, led by the Jewellery Maisons, up 19 percent, and the Specialist Watchmakers, up 6 percent.

Sales at its ‘Other’ business, which includes fashion and accessories brands, increased 5 percent.

The company benefited from the continued recovery of its biggest market, Asia Pacific, which has been hit hard in recent years by Covid restrictions, especially in Mainland China. Sales in APAC rose 32 percent to 2.24 billion euros in the quarter.

Americas sales weigh on Richemont results

The APAC growth helped offset a surprise 4 percent drop in the Americas, where sales came in at 1.1 billion euros, with the fall being linked to lower wholesale sales and retail sales broadly aligning with the prior-year period.

Europe, meanwhile, reported a 10 percent increase to 1.13 billion euros, the Middle East and Africa rose 12 percent to 432 million euros, and Japan grew 6 percent to 424 million euros.

Breaking it down by channel, growth was driven by retail as deep pocketed shoppers flocked to physical stores. Retail sales rose 19 percent to 3.62 billion euros and represented 68 percent of group sales.

Meanwhile, wholesale and royalty income rose 8 percent to 1.41 billion euros, and online retail fell 1 percent to 298 million euros.