Luxury Group Richemont Reports 10% Sales Increase

Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods maker, reported annual sales of € 3.717 billion ($4.801 billion), rising 10 percent above the prior year.

The group, which holds some of the most prestigious names in the industry including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Dunhill and Montblanc, said the positive pre-Christmas sales continued during the final quarter, although at a slightly lower growth rate.

Of particular strength were the Asia-Pacific and Americas regions, contributing strongly to the annual growth, growing 26 percent and 14 percent respectively in constant rates. Europe did well, showing a 10 percent growth over the year.

The Group also pointed out its jewelry Maisons, specialist watchmakers and writing instruments manufacturers as strong contributors to the year’s double-digit growth.

Sales of the group’s Jewelry Maisons, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, grew by 8 percent at actual exchange rates. Particularly strong growth was reported in the Asia-Pacific region.

Cartier’s new products launched worldwide during the year contributed significantly to the good performance. Jewelry Maisons fetched €1.956 billion.

The Group’s specialist watchmakers reported sales growth of 13 percent at actual exchange rates to €885 million.