Results for Swatch Group, Richemont & LVMH

Business News: Richemont First Quarter Results, Jewellery Faring Better Than Watches

The first quarter results of Richemont, the Swiss luxury group that just announced a new chief executive, illustrate a well-established trend in the luxury goods industry, with the group’s jewellery brands outperforming its watchmakers in the three months to end June 2024. Dominated by Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, the Swiss group’s jewellery division eked out a 4% increase in sales, reflecting the strength of the group’s twin jewellery giants. Notably, the revenue growth was “supported by both jewellery and watches”, reflecting the brand equity of each jeweller has carried over into their respective watch offerings. The three jewellery brands – the smallest is Buccellati – accounted for 70% of Richemont’s turnover. Although profit was not announced, the jewellers are also responsible for an even greater share of the group’s profits. Watch weakness In contrast, the watch division saw revenue fall 13%. Amongst the division’s brands are IWC, Panerai, Piaget, and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Interestingly, A. Lange & Söhne and Vacheron Constantin were singled out for their “resilience”. Unsurprisingly, both are haute horlogerie brands that derive the highest proportion of revenue from in-house boutiques, as opposed to third-party retailers. Whether this resilience is durable is an open question, although odds are not in the brands’ favour given their respective product mix, sales strategies, and consumer sentiment. Only available at boutiques At a group leve...

Rolex rumoured to cede F1 sponsorship to LVMH

It has been reported that Rolex may end its contract to be the official timepiece of F1 and it is to be taken over by the LVMH Group.The post Rolex rumoured to cede F1 sponsorship to LVMH appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Industry News – LVMH Acquires High-End Clockmaker L’Epée 1839

Known as the largest luxury group in the world, owned by the Arnault family, LVMH continues its development in all fields related to rare and artistic crafts. Already the owner, through its Watches Division, of TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith (as well as jewellery brands Bulgari and Tiffany, not included in this division), the group […]

Will LVMH Do Justice To The Daniel Roth Name? - See And Judge For Yourself

Daniel Roth is a name that carries weight in the world of Haute Horlogerie. When LVMH, the brand’s current owner, announced its revival back in 2023, it filled us with anticipation and trepidation. Could this work under the umbrella of a big luxury group? Will LMVH do the Daniel Roth name justice? Well, today, we […] Visit Will LVMH Do Justice To The Daniel Roth Name? - See And Judge For Yourself to read the full article.

Industry News – Richemont Reports Sales up by 8% For Third Quarter, Jewellery Taking the Lead over Watches

Switzerland-based luxury conglomerate Richemont Group has just issued its trading update for the nine months ended 31 December 2023. The group, which includes brands such as Cartier, IWC, JLC and Vacheron, reports sales up by 8% at constant exchange rates and by 4% at actual exchange rates to EUR 5.6 billion for the last quarter […]

Introducing: The Swatch X Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms Is Real – And It Has Arrived (Video + Live Pics)

Dubbed the "Scuba Fifty," the latest collaboration from the Swatch Group is ready to produce complete pandemonium on September 9th.

Swatch wraps up their 2023 Art Journey with new Jean-Michel Basquiat triptych

The Swatch x Jean-Michel Basquiat collection marks the final collaboration of the Art Journey project Previous collaborations were with MoMA, Magritte, Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi The triptych includes three quartz-driven pieces inspired by Basquiat’s ‘Ishtar’, ‘Untitled’, and ‘Hollywood Africans’ artworks Swatch as a brand, not the conglomerate group, is widely credited … ContinuedThe post Swatch wraps up their 2023 Art Journey with new Jean-Michel Basquiat triptych appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Business News: Richemont Posts Strong Recovery; Watches Continue Decline

After a weak first half, Richemont’s business started its turnaround in the second half of the financial year, which ended in March 2021. From a 25% year-on-year revenue decline in the first half at constant exchange rates, the Swiss luxury group enjoyed a 36% rise in sales in the last quarter. As a result, revenue for the full year was down just 5% compared to the year before, to slightly over €13 billion. The healthy numbers and positive outlook helped send Richemont shares past 100 Swiss francs during trading, a five-year high. Divergent fates Beneath the strong recovery in the group’s numbers lay a recurring theme: a disparity in performance between regions, channels, and divisions. This echoes that of its rivals and the broader luxury-good industry – characterised by a strong recovery in Asia, moderate recovery in the United States, and continued weakness in Europe. And within the group, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels are powering ahead, leaving most of its watchmakers lagging. Continuing a trend that began in the third quarter, sales in Asia Pacific – all Asian countries except Japan – rose by a staggering 106% in the final quarter, boosting revenue in the region by 22% for the year. Asia Pacific sales are now the largest proportion of Richemont’s revenue at 45% of the total, compared to the historical one-third share. The performance was driven by strong sales in China, both in Richemont’s physical stores and its online mall on Alibaba’s Tmall Lu...

Breaking News: LVMH Abandons Tiffany Takeover

Announced shortly before COVID-19 made the news, the US$16 billion deal to take over Tiffany & Co. has been scrapped by LVMH. The French luxury conglomerate, which counts Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Hublot amongst its brands, cited the looming tariffs on French goods announced by the United States. That led to instructions from the French government to delay the deal until January 2021, according to LVMH. Another reason cited by the French group was Tiffany’s request for extension of the closing date for the deal, from November to December. In response, Tiffany filed a lawsuit in the United States, seeking to force LVMH to complete the deal. Regardless of the motives behind the withdrawal, it appears to be a shrewd move by LVMH, which is controlled by Bernard Arnault, the richest man in France and widely regarded to be a hard-nosed dealmaker. In the 10 months since the deal has been announced, the world has changed drastically. The state of the the industry makes it likely that LVMH will be able to find cheaper avenues to cement its position as the world’s biggest luxury group. Tiffany shares fell almost 10% in pre-market trading on the news, while LVMH declined about 0.9% during the trading day in Paris.  

Business News: Richemont Fortifies Balance Sheet with €2 Billion Bond Sale

Having just announced its full-year results while predicting a gloomy outlook for the business, Richemont has successful placed €2 billion of bonds, with coupon ranging from 0.75% for the 8-year note to 1.625% for the 20-year note. The bond placement boosts the Swiss luxury group’s robust balance sheet, which had a gross cash position of €6.34 billion and a net cash position of €2.40 billion at the end of March 31, 2020. The notes received an A+ rating from credit ratings agency S&P;, which also lowered its outlook for Richemont from stable to negative, “citing the possibility of a downgrade if the coronavirus pandemic causes the company’s credit metrics to worsen”. Widely regarded as a savvy investor who transformed his family’s tobaccco-and-banking empire into an even larger one focused the “hard” luxury of watches and jewellery, Mr Rupert’s belief in the severity of the pandemic-induced recession is obvious. That, in turn, does not bode well for the luxury watch business. Richemont’s biggest earner is Cartier – the jewellery division is half the group’s turnover – it also owns a host of luxury watch brands, including A. Lange & Söhne, IWC, and Panerai, which make up about 20% of its sales. During Richemont’s earning conference call on May 15, Mr Rupert explained the bond issue: “We have always believed in protecting our balance sheet… For years, a lot of investment banks questioned us about that it’s a lazy balance sheet. But h...

Business News: LVMH Offers to Buy Tiffany & Co.

Luxury giant LVMH has made an offer to buy Tiffany & Co., America’s leading luxury jeweller (and the biggest retailer of Patek Philippe watches in the country), according to the Bloomberg. The French group made an all-cash offer of US$120 a share, a premium of about 22% over Tiffany’s last done share price and valuing the company at about US$14.4 billion. That would make Tiffany’s the biggest acquisition ever for LVMH, which has seen its shares hit record highs recently, bringing its value to over US$210 billion. Despite being the world’s largest luxury group – its brands include Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Rimowa, Hublot and DFS – LVMH is relatively weak in high-end jewellery, especially compared to Swiss rival Richemont, which owns Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Piaget, and only just picked up Buccellati. Buying Tiffany would give LVMH a bigger presence in jewellery, as well as greater exposure to the United States, which is the jeweller’s biggest market, account for around a third of sales. LVMH only just opened a bag factory in Texas, the Louis Vuitton Rochambeau Ranch, in an event attended by Donald Trump and LVMH chief executive and controlling shareholder Bernard Arnault, who’s also the third-richest man in the world. Best known for its diamond engagement rings and blue boxes, Tiffany suffered from a weak spell in recent years, with its former chief executive Frederic Cumenal, an LVMH alumni, lasting barely two years. After he departed in 2017, to be...

Swatch Inaugurates New Headquarters in Biel

A long snaking building that stretches some 240m, the new Swatch headquarters in Biel, or Bienne in French, is the culmination of five years of work. Selling about 9.5m watches a year for about 450m Swiss francs of revenue, according to Swiss bank Vontobel, Swatch was the foundational company of its parent, the aptly named Swatch Group, which also owns Omega and Longines. Like many of its parent company’s recent projects, the Swatch building was designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, the 2014 Pritzker Prize winner who is best known for his works of wood or paper, as well as his temporary structures for humanitarian aid. Its new home is covered in a honeycomb timber grid that incorporates windows, nine balconies and solar panels. Visible from the inside is the Swatch logo, derived from the Swiss cross, incorporated into some of the grid’s cells. And hidden within the structure is a network of wires and cables for telecommunications, electricity and the like. The Swatch headquarters, with the Omega building at the far left The Swatch building ends in La Cite du Temps, which sits in front of the Omega factory and headquarters Shigeru Ban, Nayla Hayek, and Nick Hayek Jr at the opening ceremony on October 3, 2019 The glass-walled Swatch store in front of the new headquarters With the new headquarters in the background Light, flexible and sustainable, the timber beams used for the outer structure number some 4,600, all precisely cut to fit with join with each other per...

Business News: Richemont Acquires Milanese Jeweller Buccellati

Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont has just added Buccellati to its stable of luxury brands, which include watchmakers like A. Lange & Söhne, IWC, Panerai. Richemont is buying the 100-year old Milanese jeweller from Gangtai Group Corporation Limited, a Chinese conglomerate that bought a majority stake in 2017 that reputedly valued the jeweller at €230m, or about US$271m at the time, according to Forbes. Gangtai had owned 85% of Buccellati, with the remainder held by the founding family, but like many of its peers the Chinese group has been forced to sell assets as the Chinese government put a stop to the debt-fuelled overseas expansion that was earlier fashionable. The terms of Richemont’s acquisition were not disclosed, although Chinese news website Jing Daily reports Buccellati was valued at US$313m, including debt, equivalent to about 15% of Richemont’s net cash position in the last fiscal year. According to Richemont, Buccellati family scion Andrea Buccellati as well as several other family members will remain with the jeweller after the takeover. Buccellati gives Richemont a more diverse presence in high-end jewellery, where its business is concentrated the Parisian jewellers Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, which together account for the bulk of group sales. In contrast to the French style of both Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccellati’s Italian sensibility gives Richemont a stylistic counter to Bulgari, the Roman jeweller owned by French luxury ...

Introducing the Swatch Flymagic with Titanium-Based Nivachron Hairspring

Swatch Watches unveils the Swatch Flymagic featuring the Swatch Group’s latest innovation in watchmaking: the titanium-based Nivachron hairspring.

Business news: Richemont appoints Jérôme Lambert as COO

Richemont announcement: Jérôme Lambert is the new Chief Operating Officer of the group, and Emmanuel Perrin is Head of Specialist Watchmakers Distribution.

BREAKING NEWS: Richemont announces resignation of Georges Kern, Head of Watchmaking, Marketing and Digital

In a short statement published on their website, Richemont has announced that Georges Kern has resigned, effective immediately. Kern, long time CEO of IWC was promoted to the prominent position of ‘Head of Watchmaking, Marketing and Digital’ for the entire Richemont group just four months ago. He has been seen by many as one of the … ContinuedThe post BREAKING NEWS: Richemont announces resignation of Georges Kern, Head of Watchmaking, Marketing and Digital appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The Richemont Shakeup

Just the facts, from the Richemont Group shakeup signaling an all out rally towards a stronger Digital front.

New markets for Swatch with Harry Winston acquisition

Biel/Bienne (Switzerland), January 14, 2013 – The Swatch Group Ltd. in Biel/Bienne has acquired 100% of the shares of the US company HW Holdings Inc., owner of Harry Winston Inc. The $750 million deal sees the jeweller and watchmaker selling its watches-to-necklaces division to Swatch Group Ltd. The sale doesn’t include diamond mining operations of […]

Introducing the Autodromo Group C Turbo Sport, the Brand’s First Ana-Digi Watch

Few innovations in automobile engines have been as impactful as the turbocharger, first brought to production cars in the 1960s and popularized in the United States largely thanks to the iconic turbodiesel 1978 Mercedes-Benz 300SD. With a telltale whistle accompanying that extra boost of power, the turbocharger soon became synonymous with motorsports and performance cars of the 1980s: the Audi Quatto’s breathy flutter, the 930 Porsche 911 Turbo’s heartpounding lag, and the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth’s European rally dominance all helped propel the decade into the “golden era” of turbocharged performance.  With their latest release, motorsport-inspired watchmakers Autodromo are bringing another homage to a period of automotive innovation, this time highlighting the Group C “prototype” class of sports cars from the 1980s, many of which featured bold (and sometimes dangerous) turbocharged power. The basis of this new collection is their already-successful Group C digital watch, initially released in 2023, and the new Turbo Sport models draw inspiration from the analog tachometers of turbocharged ‘80s motorsports legends to create an ani-digi design that straddles the classic and modern eras of automotive and horological design.  First, the dimensions: measuring in at 38.5mm in case diameter and 40mm lug-to-lug, the Group C Turbo Sport is compact, and sits fairly lightly on the wrist with a 11.4mm case thickness measurement. The case itself is anodized aluminum ...

In-Depth – Inside Tudor Watch, Kenissi and the Industrial Ecosystem Behind the Brand

Tudor was founded in 1926 by Hans Wilsdorf, the man who also co-founded Rolex. As such, the brand celebrates its 100th anniversary this year (to be precise, the anniversary was three days ago, on February 17th). To mark this significant milestone, Tudor opened its doors to a select group of journalists, granting rare access not […]

Louis Vuitton Flexes their Watchmaking Skills with a Flurry of LVMH Watch Week Novelties

Fashion houses are often only as strong as consumers’ nostalgia for their heyday. As more time passes between a brand’s peak and its current incarnation, the connection to what it once represented can become increasingly tenuous. In some cases, that link barely holds at all. Balenciaga is a perfect example of a brand that leaned so heavily on its laurels that it fell on its ass. Thankfully, that isn’t the case with Louis Vuitton. The maison’s durability has come from its ability to evolve without losing sight of what made it relevant in the first place. Marc Jacobs is often credited with bringing Louis Vuitton into a modern context when he launched its first ready-to-wear collection in 1998, but the throughline has always been consistent: an emphasis on craftsmanship, materials, and design rooted in the principles established by Louis Vuitton in 1854. That same approach is clearly evident at this year’s LVMH Watch Week, where each release shows that the label is heavily invested in expanding Louis Vuitton’s legacy of craftsmanship into everything under the label’s umbrella. First up, we have the Escale Worldtime, which returns this year in a platinum case with a dial ring featuring 24 hand-painted city flags, each impressively applied at La Fabrique du Temps, the watch manufacture owned by Louis Vuitton that has been the catalyst for much of the brand’s advancement in watchmaking under their own name in recent years. If you are more interested in the Flying...

Introducing: Zenith Expands The Defy Skyline Line At LVMH Watch Week 2026

Ceramic, skeletonized, tourbillon, and 36mm versions expand the Skyline range.

LVMH Watch Week 2026: L’Epée Introduces the La Regatta Clock

Bulgari Goes Big with a Pair of Opulent LVMH Watch Week Releases

There are two things I really like about Bulgari. The first being that I’m not entirely sure how to spell their brand’s name. Bulgari? Bvlgari? Both? A secret third option? At any rate, I find it a bit chic to have a bit of runic ambiguity in a modern-day brand. The second thing I enjoy is their commitment to glamour. In today’s fashion and jewelry market, there is an inundation of simplistic, minimalistic styles. Personally speaking, I’m quite fond of dressing like I live in the Nordics, but a bit of eye candy every now and then never hurt anyone. That is to say, I’m quite pleased to share the release of two new watches, which will be presented in Milan during LVMH Watch Week, beginning today. Let me introduce you to: Maglia Milanese Monete and Tubogas Manchette. First up, the Maglia Milanese Monete revisits Bulgari’s Monete concept from the mid-1960s, centered around an authentic Roman coin from the reign of Emperor Caracalla. It is paired with a rose gold Milanese mesh bracelet, marking the brand’s first use of the technique and giving the watch a more fluid look on the wrist, nodding more to Bulgari’s jewelry-making history. The dial itself is concealed beneath the coin, while the watch is powered by Bulgari’s Piccolissimo BVP100. The manually wound movement measures just 13.5mm in diameter and 2.5mm thick, and offers a 30-hour power reserve, which can be viewed through the sapphire caseback. Next, the Tubogas Manchette takes its cues from a 1970s des...

LVMH Watch Week 2026: Louis Vuitton’s La Camionnette - The Art of Travel in Miniature