Richemont defies luxury downturn with strong jewellery sales
Resilient demand for fine jewellery has helped the owner of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels defy the broader downturn in luxury spending.
Richemont, the Swiss luxury group, posted stronger-than-expected sales in the fourth quarter and signalled it would resist aggressive price increases despite the threat of US tariffs.
It reported a 7 per cent rise in sales to €5.17 billion for the three months to the end of March, outpacing analysts' forecasts. An 11 per cent jump in jewellery revenue helped to offset a sharp drop in watch sales amid weaker sentiment in China.
Shares in the Swiss-listed company climbed CHF11.22, or 7.3 per cent, to CHF165.32 in mid-afternoon trading on Friday, taking gains for the year to 17 per cent, in stark contrast
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
Retailer Temu's daily US users halve following end of 'de minimis' loophole
SHANGHAI/NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters) - Daily U.S. users of PDD Holdings' (PDD.O), opens new tab global discount e-commerce platform Temu fell by 58% in May, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, one of many headwinds the e-retailer is facing amid a U.S.-China trade war. Temu decided to slash ad spending in the U.S. and shift its order fulfilment strategy after the White House on May 2 ended the practice known as "de minimis" - which allowed Chinese companies to ship low-value packages to the United States tariff-free. Temu, along with fast-fashion giant Shein, had utilised that provision for years to drop-ship items directly from suppliers in China to consumers in the U.S., keeping prices low. Both Temu and Shein have suffered a sharp drop in sales growth and customer growth rates since U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping trade tariffs, according to data collected by consultancy Bain & Company, but Temu's trends have been worse than its rival. Tariffs forced both platforms to raise prices, but Shein has been able to increase the amount of money spent per customer compared to a year ago, the data showed, while Temu has struggled. Temu did not respond to a request for comment on the drop in U.S. daily users or the headwinds it faces in the U.S. market. Engagement on Temu has dropped significantly following the end of the exemption, Morgan Stanley equity analyst Simeon Gutman said in a May note. "While the tariff environment is uncertain, if the status quo remains for an extended period, we believe Temu's competitive threat will continue to weaken," Gutman said. Last week, PDD's first quarter earnings fell short of growth estimates and executives told analysts on a post-earnings call that tariffs had created significant pressure for its merchants. They reiterated Temu's earlier pledge to keep prices stable and work with merchants across regions, referring to a shift to a local fulfilment model announced at the start of May. Temu's previous business model gave merchants responsibility for ordering and supplying their products while the China-based company managed most of the logistics, pricing and marketing. Now, Temu's merchants "can ship individual orders from China to Temu-partnered U.S. warehouses but they would need to address tariffs and customs charges and paper work," according to a note from analysts at HSBC. Temu continues to handle fulfilling orders close to shoppers, setting prices and online operations. In last week's note, HSBC said that Temu's growth in non-U.S. markets has picked up, with non-U.S. users rising to 90% of its 405 million global monthly active users in the second quarter. "New user uptick grew swiftest in less affluent markets," analysts wrote.
Reuters
31 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump and China's Xi will likely speak this week, White House says
WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will likely speak this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. Leavitt is the third top Trump aide to forecast an imminent call between the two leaders to iron out differences on last month's tariff agreement in Geneva, among larger trade issues. It was not immediately clear when the two leaders will speak. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that Trump and Xi would speak "very soon" to iron out trade issues including a dispute over critical minerals and China's restrictions of exports of certain minerals. Trump said on Friday he was sure that he would speak to Xi. China said in April that the two leaders had not had a conversation recently. Bessent led negotiations with China in Geneva last month that resulted in a temporary truce in the trade war between the world's two biggest economies, but progress since then has been slow, the U.S. Treasury chief told Fox News last week. The U.S.-China agreement to dial back triple-digit tariffs for 90 days prompted a massive relief rally in global stocks. But it did nothing to address the underlying reasons for Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, mainly longstanding U.S. complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model, leaving those issues for future talks. A U.S. trade court on Wednesday ruled that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing the bulk of his tariffs on imports from China and other countries under an emergency powers act. But less than 24 hours later, a federal appeals court reinstated the tariffs, saying it was pausing the trade court ruling to consider the government's appeal. The appeals court ordered the plaintiffs to respond by June 5 and the administration to respond by June 9.
Reuters
31 minutes ago
- Reuters
EU backs curbs on Chinese medical device firms' bidding in public tenders
BRUSSELS, June 2 (Reuters) - European Union governments have backed a European Commission proposal to put limits on Chinese medical device suppliers' bidding on public contracts after finding EU companies were not given fair access to China's public tenders, EU diplomats said on Monday. The measures will be the first under the EU's International Procurement Instrument, which is designed to ensure reciprocity, after the Commission launched an investigation in April 2024. Under the instrument, the EU executive can exclude Chinese bidders from larger EU public procurement tenders or attach a penalty score to their bids for five years to tackle discrimination. The European Commission confirmed it put a proposal to EU members on Monday but said it could not disclose the outcome of the vote, the content of its proposal or its next steps. Under EU law, any measures must be "proportionate." The Commission has previously said it found "clear evidence" that China favoured Chinese devices for hospitals and its tender conditions led to abnormally low bids that profit-oriented companies could not offer. The new restrictions are likely to increase tensions inflamed by EU tariffs on China-built electric vehicles and Chinese measures against EU brandy. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic was due to meet Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Paris on Tuesday, according to Sefcovic's agenda. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU expressed "profound disappointment" about the decision, which it said failed to acknowledge the significant access European medical device firms had enjoyed in China. "At a time when the global trade faces considerable uncertainty, and certain countries are resorting to unilateral tariff measures that disrupt global market order, China and the EU... should jointly uphold free trade," it said. A Commission investigation published in January found 87% of a sample of Chinese public tenders contained direct and indirect restrictions on imported devices. It also said explicit bans on imported devices in Chinese tenders rose from 2022 to 2024. Restrictions primarily affected ear, nose and throat devices, such as used to clear airways, general diagnostic devices and diagnostic imaging devices. The Commission said China had not proposed any corrective action to remedy the situation. The two sides could still reach an agreement to avoid EU measures.
