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PARIS, April 14 (Reuters) – LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods group, said on Monday that sales in the first quarter fell 3%, lacking expectations and confirmed a slowdown in the industry amid a rough economy. The French companies behind the high-end label include fashion companies Louis Vuitton and Dior, jewelry brands Bulgari and Hennessy Cognac, with sales of 20.3 billion euros ($23.08 billion) as of the end of March.
According to Visiblealpha consensus estimates, the results are up 1% in the fourth quarter, and analysts expect a 2% increase in the first quarter of 2025. The fashion and leather products division, home to Louis Vuitton and Dior and accounts for nearly half of the group’s sales and more than three-quarters of its operating profit, saw its sales drop by 5%, well below expectations for flat performance. LVMH said sales of fashion and leather goods were “slightly down” in the United States, while Japan was weaker than pre-season a year ago.
Luxury players in Europe are counting on wealthy Americans to reignite growth in the industry early this year, while China’s outlook for another key market remains bleak.
But concerns about a U.S. recession are rising after President Donald Trump’s recent tariff announcements issued by stock markets and the dollar decline, and the industry is preparing for everything possible
The longest downturn in years.
The luxury industry sells precious items to wealthy shoppers with high profit margins, using pricing power better than other industries to turn profits against Trump’s tariffs, which include 20% fees on European fashion and leather products, and 31% if fully applied to Swiss production watches. Last week, Trump suspended most of the tariffs for 90 days, setting the 10% tax rate to 10%.
($1 = 0.8797 euros) (reported by Mimosa Spencer and Tassilo Hummel)
