Kering Sees 'Excellent' Jewelry Sales

RAPAPORT... Kering's jewelry and watch divisions grew strongly in the first quarter amid a market recovery in the North America and Asia-Pacific regions.Revenue from the company's "other houses" segment, which includes jewelry and watches, rose 29% year on year to EUR 714.3 million ($857.8 million) for the three months ending March 31, the company said Tuesday."The jewelry houses achieved an excellent quarter," the company noted. "Boucheron's development strategy is paying off, yielding a remarkable performance. Pomellato regained very strong momentum, while Qeelin confirmed its exceptional growth trajectory. The watch manufacturers also had a good start to the year."Total revenue for the group, which owns high-end brands Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, climbed 21% to EUR 3.89 billion ($4.67 billion) for the January-to-March period. The company's growth was strong across all segments, it noted, particularly in Asia-Pacific, where sales were up 83%, and North America, which jumped 46%.Online sales continued to see solid growth, increasing 108% for the period and accounting for 14% of total retail sales, Kering added.Image: A Gucci store in Hong Kong. (Shutterstock)