Watches Boca Raton

LVMH, better known as Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, reported their quarterly earnings today.  Sales remained strong for the company even though sales from their watch companies struggled.  LVMH is one of the largest luxury conglomerates in the world.  “Cautious purchasing” is what they cited as the biggest reason why sales slowed for watches.  “While jewelry revenue showed remarkable momentum, watches were penalized by the cautious purchasing behavior of multi-brand retailers in an uncertain economic environment,” LVMH said.   It comes as a surprise as most of the companies LVMH owns sell watches Boca Raton rather than jewelry.

Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy owns Bulgari, Chaumet, Fred, TAG Heuer, Hublot, and Zenith.  It also operates De Beer’s retail stores in a joint venture.  LVMH said Bulgari’s iconic lines did well in 2014.  LVMH also spoke about the changes at TAG Heuer where their CEO resigned in December.  They are trying to reach a younger clientele by offering less expensive watches and using famous model Kara Delevingne in more ads.  

Overall, LVMH recorded sales of $34.9 billion in 2014 making it one of the largest companies in the world.  Their organic revenue grew by 5% from the year before and was also 5% in the fourth quarter.  The biggest number was net profit grew from $3.93 billion to $6.45 billion.  Their operating margin was 19%.

They said that all sales were very strong in North America and other parts of the world, but Spirits and Wines hurt because of destocking distributors in China.  Commenting on the results, Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault said, “The 2014 results confirm the capacity for LVMH to progress despite economic and currency uncertainty. Revenue and net profit reached new record levels … In 2014, all our maisons demonstrated outstanding flexibility. By adapting their strategies to global changes and by continuing to evolve, they have shown the creativity and entrepreneurship that drive them forward.”