LVMH watch brands Hublot, Zenith expect sales rebound in 2021
Published 3 months ago
By Silke Koltrowitz
ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss luxury watchmakers Hublot and Zenith, both part of French group LVMH, expect sales to rebound in 2021, after a difficult 2020 and a challenging start to the new year, their chief executives said on Monday.
Swiss watchmakers’ sales slid last year as stores were affected by pandemic-related closures and as tourism, an important driver of the luxury watch business, collapsed.
Some companies, which have a strong presence in mainland China, have benefited from a rebound in demand, such as Richemont, which returned to growth in the final quarter of 2020.
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ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss luxury watchmakers Hublot and Zenith, both part of French group LVMH, expect sales to rebound in 2021, after a difficult 2020 and a challenging start to the new year, their chief executives said on Monday.
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Swiss watchmakers’ sales slid last year as stores were affected by pandemic-related closures and as tourism, an important driver of the luxury watch business, collapsed.
Some companies, which have a strong presence in mainland China, have benefited from a rebound in demand, such as Richemont, which returned to growth in the final quarter of 2020.
“For Hublot, we expect 15-20% sales growth this year . In China, we still have a lot of potential, we expect very strong growth of 30-50% there,” CEO Ricardo Guadalupe told Reuters in a phone interview during LVMH watch week.
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With the acquisition being LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE’s biggest deal to date, and an expensive trophy asset despite the last-minute price cut, there’s little wonder that the company’s chief executive officer is sending experienced staffers from his flagship brand Louis Vuitton to oversee it.
More interesting is the appointment of his 28-year-old son Alexandre to a senior role at Tiffany. It is the latest example of how Arnault, the 71-year-old LVMH founder and France’s richest man, is situating his children into the world’s biggest luxury group, readying them for eventual succession.
It’s a smart move, and one that is playing out across the industry, as scions from family-controlled houses like Prada SpA and cashmere-maker Brunello Cucinelli SpA are elevated to top roles. Younger, digitally focused consumers will drive high-end sales over the next decade. Who better to understand them than the next generation of luxury dynasties? They’re bling kids th
Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images
Alexandre Arnault, the former CEO of high-end luggage brand Rimowa, is now an executive at Tiffany & Co., the 28-year-old announced on Instagram on Friday.
He will be based in New York as the executive vice president of product and communications at the iconic jewelry brand.
LVMH, the world s largest luxury goods conglomerate that owns Rimowa as well as 74 other luxury brands, bought Tiffany for $15.8 billion in October.
Alexandre Arnault s father, Bernard Arnault, has run LVMH since 1989 and is the world s fourth-richest man, with a $117 billion net worth.
Three other of Bernard s children hold leadership positions at LVMH brands Louis Vuitton, Tag Heuer, and Berluti.
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