HK protests, China slowdown take sparkle off luxury market

Paris

PROTESTS in Hong Kong, an economic slowdown and anti-corruption drive in China and a coup in Thailand: Asia is no longer a market of constant growth for luxury goods firms.

LVMH, world number-one in the sector and owner of brands like Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Dior, saw its sales drop by 3 per cent in Asia, excluding Japan, in the third quarter of 2014, a far cry from the halcyon days of 2010-12.

In every other market, LVMH's sales increased, according to figures published last week. Even activity in sluggish Europe has done better over the past nine months, the group said.

The crisis in Hong Kong "will have an impact" on the quarterly results, group finance director Jean-Jacques Guiony said. "We have already noted some negative impact on activity in duty free shops in the third quarter." Arnaud Cadart, an analyst at CM-CIC securities, said there was a "rare c…