LVMH loses spot among Europe's top five stocks amid market slump
LVMH has lost its position among Europe's five largest listed companies as the luxury group endures its steepest year-to-date stock decline since the 2008 financial crisis.
Shares of the French company dropped roughly 3% on Thursday, extending its 2024 losses to 25%. With a market capitalisation of about €239 billion ($270 billion), LVMH now trails Swiss packaged-foods maker Nestlé SA in value.
Like many luxury players, LVMH is facing pressure from weakening demand in China and growing concerns that potential tariffs under a new Donald Trump administration could curb consumer spending in the U.S. According to sources familiar with the matter, the company has issued cautious signals about second-quarter performance.
'For shares to reprice, we'd need to return to some growth in the industry and/or some relative outperformance versus peers,' said Morningstar analyst Jelena Sokolova. 'I think both are more likely than not over the medium term, but I'm not sure those will happen this year.'
The downturn marks a notable reversal for a stock that ranked among the world's top 10 as recently as 2023, even rivalling Meta Platforms Inc. in market value.
Investor confidence has waned as signs of recovery remain elusive. Barclays Plc analyst Carole Madjo recently downgraded LVMH to 'equal weight,' citing limited expectations for a rebound in the company's core fashion and leather goods division this year.
'Given the incremental headwinds facing the sector, particularly in the U.S., we believe the sector's earnings recovery story may be delayed,' Madjo wrote in a note.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fashion Network
5 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Casablanca opens first Paris store, plans spaces in LA, London, and skiwear line
Casablanca has taken a step it describes as 'decisive' by opening its first brick-and-mortar store. The French label, launched in 2018 by French-Moroccan designer Charaf Tajer, has set up shop in Paris, where it has been showing since January 2019, and where it has managed to establish itself as one of the up-and-coming names in ready-to-wear. Casablanca's first store is located in the French capital's luxury shopping district, on rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. Casablanca has opened its flagship almost at one end of the prestigious thoroughfare, at number 62, on the corner with rue d'Aguesseau. The premises extend over nearly 460 square metres on three levels, and were previously home to an art gallery. The interiors are the brainchild of designer Charaf Tajer and the label's creative director Steve Grimes, working in collaboration with London-based design agency Counterfeit Studio and Moroccan architecture studio Elements Lab. The décor reflects 'a fusion between the past and the future, between Parisian elegance, cinema references and a bold, forward-looking vision,' said Casablanca in a press release. Originally, Casablanca focused on menswear, and made a name for itself with uber-chic looks featuring vibrant prints and fine fabrics, borrowing both from the sporting world, notably tennis, and from retro glamour. Soon the label added women's ready-to-wear, broadening its assortment by introducing a range of accessories, including leather goods, footwear and sneakers, scarves, socks and hats. The label's Parisian store showcases all these categories, spread out across each level within Casablanca's various collections. The atmosphere inside the store is decidedly cheerful and warm, with an almost pop-art feel. The furnishings are characterised by rounded and geometric shapes and by Casablanca's signature sunny palette — red, green and Mediterranean blue. The décor combines different styles and materials, using various types of marble, metal, lacquered wood, walls in white wood and others with mouldings and arched niches, velvet, mosaic, and metal and glass tinted in multiple shades for the display cabinets. After Paris, Casablanca will open in July in Los Angeles, at 469 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills. The label, which has dropped several collaborations in recent years, with Bulgari, Caviar Kaspia, ST Dupont and Nordstrom among others, is distributed via its e-shop and 350 multibrand retailers worldwide. It has recently opened shop-in-shops at Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdale's in Dubai, and at KaDeWe in Berlin, and further shop-in-shops are on the cards in London, at Selfridges in September and Harrods in November. Casablanca also operates seasonal pop-up stores, like the space open for two months at Le Bon Marché in Paris, decked out like a beach club. This season, the label has established a presence also at the Mandarin Oriental in Bodrum (Turkey), and will open temporary stores at Tahiti Beach on the French Riviera in July, at the Fashion Clinic Comporta store in Cavalhal, Portugal, in August, and at the Atlantis The Royal hotel in Dubai, in partnership with the Ounass e-shop. Another project Casablanca is busy on is the autumn launch of a first skiwear capsule collection, produced in partnership with Swiss brand Faction Skis. It will be presented in November via pop-up spaces at Harrods in London and Galeries Lafayette Haussmann in Paris, as well as in top Alpine resorts such as Verbier and Gstaad in Switzerland. Casablanca is backed by an investor and has moved its headquarters to London. In 2024, it generated a revenue of €45 million, and is expecting to reach €60 million for 2025, growing by more than 30%. Casablanca has been led since 2023 by Frederick Lukoff, and employs 140 people. The label has been posting double-digit annual growth on a regular basis. Sales for its e-shop have notably soared, recording a triple-digit rise this year. With this first Paris opening, Tajer is relishing Casablanca's success. 'When my parents arrived in France, my mother was working as a housekeeper, so me setting up a fashion house was the last thing that could be expected. Then, five or six years ago, I said: 'I want a corner in this street', and everyone told me it was impossible, because all the locations were taken by the top labels. Opening this store is a huge achievement for us: It feels like coming home.'
Fashion Network
10 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Longchamp opens pop-up café in Paris's Marais district
French label Longchamp has unveiled a new aspect of its lifestyle expertise by opening a pop-up café at 45 rue Vieille du Temple, in the heart of Paris's Marais district, a first for the family-owned brand founded in 1948. The café will remain open from June 6 to September 2. The café's poetic setting, designed by artist Constantin Riant, is characterised by blue and white lines. The walls feature shelves in blond wood displaying hand-crafted ceramics, art books, and items by Longchamp. Pride of place goes to the café area, where visitors can enjoy hot drinks and sweet and savoury treats throughout the day, as well as visit the temporary bookshop where they can write and send postcards. " Unique experiences will immerse our visitors in a world of creativity, mirroring Longchamp's Fall 2025 collection," said Longchamp. Longchamp operates more than 350 directly-owned stores via 25 subsidiaries. In 2024, the label's revenue soared, increasing by 20%.
France 24
11 hours ago
- France 24
EU states look to trim compensation for flight delays
At present, passengers in Europe have a right to between 250 and 600 euros ($285-685) in compensation, depending on flight distance, for delays of three hours or more. But airlines complain that leaves them a hefty bill, and often leads them to cancel flights rather than run them with a long delay, due to knock-on effects on flight schedules. A majority of EU states agreed late Thursday to change the rules, overcoming opposition from Germany in particular, following hours of painstaking negotiations in Luxembourg. Under the new system, the compensation threshold would increase to four hours for flights of up to 3,500 kilometres (2,175 miles), or connecting cities inside the European Union, with its amount set at 300 euros. For longer flights, the right to compensation of 500 euros would kick in after a six-hour delay. The European Consumer Organisation BEUC slammed the plan, saying the "new eligibility thresholds will deprive the majority of passengers from their compensation rights", as most delays are between two and four hours. It urged European lawmakers -- who have yet to approve the text -- to uphold passengers' rights. The compromise did not satisfy airlines either, with the umbrella group Airlines for Europe (A4E) -- which includes Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Ryanair and easyJet -- complaining that it "introduced even more complexity" than the initial European Commission plan. But a spokesperson for the French aviation industry federation called it a "step forward" for consumers. The rules changes "clarify the law and will avoid many recurrent court disputes," said the spokesperson, Laurent Timset. Poland's infrastructure minister Dariusz Klimczak, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, meanwhile cheered the creation of "over 30 new rights" for passengers, in a statement announcing the deal. Those include a "right to be rerouted" at the earliest opportunity, including through flights operated by other carriers or alternative transport modes. The plan also creates a system for passengers to be automatically compensated for flights cancelled within 14 days of departure. And it spells out the right to assistance -- refreshments, food, accommodation -- when travel is disrupted. France's transport minister Philippe Tabarot declared himself satisfied with the compromise.
