Richemont maintained strong sales momentum through the 2025 holiday season, providing a positive signal for the upcoming fourth-quarter earnings.
Group sales grew 11% year-on-year at constant exchange rates to €6.4 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, ended December 31, beating consensus expectations of an 8% rise. In the same period last year, the Swiss conglomerate’s sales grew 10%, buoyed by a post-election shopping frenzy in the US. But sustained growth in jewelry and the US helped to boost sales this Q3. “This is the nth demonstration that comparisons are less important than category and brand momentum. Jewelry is in strong shape, and Richemont dominates [the category] with its brands,” Bernstein luxury goods analyst Luca Solca wrote.
The luxury earnings season kicked off earlier this week with Brunello Cucinelli reporting 12% revenue growth. Following on from Richemont, LVMH is to report its annual earnings later this month. Jeffries analysts noted: “[Richemont’s] beat should encourage the long believers in the broader sector, even if this still seems to be a very US-biased dynamic.”
Richemont sales in the Americas were up 14%, boosted by “ongoing strength in local demand”, the company said. Meanwhile, in Europe, an 8% sales increase was “led by local demand and supportive tourist spending, particularly from North American and Middle Eastern clients”. Asia-Pacific rose 6%, including a 2% increase in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, which confirms a stabilization after sales returned to growth there in Q2. Japan sales rose 17%, while the Middle East and Africa region posted the highest regional growth, with sales growing 20%.
By division, jewelry — which includes Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels — led the way, with 14% growth exceeding expectations (10% in consensus). “Both jewelry and watches grew strongly, led by iconic lines and fueled by attractive novelties and impactful communication,” the company said. Sales in Richemont’s specialist watchmakers arm, featuring IWC Schaffhausen, Piaget and Jaeger-LeCoultre, were up 7%, also beating expectations of flat sales and marking a second consecutive positive quarter. Fashion and accessories maisons, including Chloé, Montblanc and Alaïa, saw a 3% uplift “with Pieter Mulier [at Alaïa] and Gianvito Rossi showing solid momentum”, Richemont said.
Jewelry has proved resilient in the luxury downturn, outpacing other luxury segments. This set of earnings from Richemont dispels concerns raised by some investors that ever-growing gold prices, as well as renewed creativity and more accessible price points in ready-to-wear and leather goods, might lead to a shift in spending — putting an end to the supercycle of the jewelry category. “While these are valid concerns, there’s currently no evidence that jewelry’s rate of outperformance has been eroded,” Morgan Stanley managing director Édouard Aubin told Vogue Business ahead of the earnings season.