Richemont Revenue Plunges as Stores Shut

RAPAPORT... Sales at Richemont's jewelry brands plummeted in the first fiscal quarter as the coronavirus forced the company to shut most of its stores in major markets.Proceeds from the group's jewelry maisons, which include Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Buccellati, dropped 41% to EUR 1.08 billion ($1.24 billion) in the three months ending June 30, the company said Thursday. Sales at watchmaker brands, including Piaget and Vacheron Constantin, fell 56% to EUR 359 million ($409.6 million)."Performance reflected unprecedented levels of disruption and widespread temporary closures of...stores and the online distributors' fulfilment centers," the luxury retailer said Thursday.Sales fell in nearly all regions as governments ordered retail establishments to close during the pandemic. The exception was China, where jewelry revenue jumped 68% year on year as online spending rose and an improvement in the coronavirus situation led to higher in-store demand. The opening of a new Cartier flagship store on Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall also contributed to the increase. Group revenue slid 47% to EUR 1.99 billion ($2.27 billion) as decreases in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa outweighed strong growth in China. Jewelry is Richemont's largest product category, contributing more than half of sales.Image: A Buccellati store in Italy. (Shutterstock)