Luxury giant says Chinese market makes up for U.S. downturn

BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- LVMH, the world's leading luxury products group, has said that while the recovery of the Chinese sales market has helped business remain steady, the U.S. luxury market has slowed down.

LVMH's U.S. sales slid 1 percent in the second quarter from the prior-year period, which was caused by a decline in sales of entry-level products, said Jean-Jacques Guiony, CFO of LVMH, during the Tuesday earnings call.

The CFO said the exact reason was not clear, but fading stimulus payments after COVID-19 could have contributed to the drop. He added that high-priced goods at LVMH's most expensive brands are holding up well in the United States, presumably due to wealthier shoppers who are less sensitive to inflation, student debt and the economy.

"China offered a major contrast" from the United States, U.S. media outlet CNBC reported. Overall, the article said, LVMH's reported sales rose 17 percent in the first quarter, helped by a 34 percent increase in Asia excluding Japan.

In April 2023, LVMH shares soared to a record high, making it the first European company to surpass 500 billion U.S. dollars in market value, the New York Times said earlier.

Luca Lisandroni, co-chief executive of the Italian luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli, called 2023 "a golden year" for the Chinese market.

"We expect China to be the luxury industry's key growth engine this year," said Edouard Aubin, an equity analyst at Morgan Stanley.