By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Richemont (OTC:CFRUY) stock jumped 8% in Swiss trading on Wednesday as the luxury goods retailer’s third quarter numbers reflected strong demand for its jewelry, watches and accessories in Americas and Europe.
All regions, channels and business areas grew in double digits in the December quarter, Richemont said. Sales substantially exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to the company.
Jewelry led the company’s growth, sales growing 57% while other business areas grew at or close to 20%. The Swiss group is owner of the Buccellati, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels brands. Growth was otherwise broad-based across product lines and price points, the company said.
Specialist Watchmaker sales, including IWC and Vacheron Constantin brands, rose 20% year-on-year.
The company’s increasing focus on direct selling via its own stores and enhanced online presence reaped dividends. Retail generated the strongest channel performance, with sales up 45% thanks to a depressed 2020 base, followed by online retail at 19%. Wholesale rose 14%. Direct sales to consumers reached 78% of group sales compared to 75% a year earlier.
Revenue from Americas and Europe jumped 55% and 42% through December, respectively. Japan grew the least, but still managed an 18% increase.
Group sales rose 32% to 5.7 billion euro ($6.4 billion). That represented an improvement of 38% from the final quarter before the start of the pandemic, according to the company.