FILE PHOTO/REUTERS
Sales of Louis Vuitton products soared more than expected as lockdowns easing across the world enabled stores to reopen and spurred demand for luxury handbags.
Organic revenue at LVMH’s fashion and leather goods unit rose 113% in the second quarter, the group said in a statement Monday.
Analysts had expected a gain of 111%. LVMH also benefited from an easy comparison as many stores remained shut last year due to pandemic restrictions.
LVMH was active in the period, presenting a so-called cruise collection from Christian Dior at Athens’s monumental Panathenaic Stadium attended by celebrities such as Catherine Deneuve and "The Queen’s Gambit” star Anya Taylor-Joy.
It also reopened La Samaritaine, a department store located on the right bank of Paris that had been shut for more than 15 years.
Profit from recurring operations came in at 7.63 billion euros ($9.02 billion) in the first half. Analysts had expected 6.62 billion euros.
The company’s selective retailing unit, which includes Sephora and DFS, operator of La Samaritaine, fared better than in previous quarters, returning to growth, the first time since the last quarter of 2019.
