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Some people follow the trend. A real fashionista expects them. Therefore, unfortunate income from high-class behemoths and pioneering LVMH should be plagued by the discernability of investors. The Louis Vuitton owner’s shares fell 7% on Tuesday after insufficient first quarter sales. However, those reported figures still do not reflect much of the softness in the US market.
Today’s main issue is China. The consumers there tightened the strings of their wallets. This was given that sales reached domestic sales and tended to snap trinkets on travel in wider regions as well. LVMH revenue in Asia except Japan fell 11% in the first three months of 2025. Sales in Japan fell by 1%. This is a sharp reversal compared to last year’s growth.
According to UBS, this is poor news for a sector that relies on China’s demand for around 30% of its sales. It is also going in some way to explain a 5% decline in LVMH’s major fashion and leather products sector, including brands such as Dior. Sales of wine and spirit, less than a tenth of total revenue, fell 9% with the precursors of diseases of Pierce Diageo, Pernodricard and Remy Cointrow.
But this is all about last season’s news. And you don’t need the Anna Win tool to see where the next trend is coming from: USA.
LVMH said its fashion and leather products brand is being maintained well despite concerns about tariffs. But the problem isn’t that it’s going to be that expensive. Luxury home customers can handle that. In any case, LVMH already manufactures 45% of the products it sells domestically. There may be a range to increase that.
The problem is that even the wealthy don’t splurge when their equity portfolio is crashing. The opposite was seen at the end of last year. As Trump’s uplift promoted valuations in the stock market, a huge number of American shoppers have emerged.
Some companies could exacerbate the darkness that is coming more than others. Jewelry has proven relative outperformal, even within the LVMH, as a category, capable of supporting rival Richmont. When it comes to truly, very, dramatically richer people, they are alleviated from the wider mal laziness. This helps explain why LVMH’s market capitalization was overtaken this week despite the latter not being manufactured in the US.
Due to the reliance on short-term preferences, luxury is also a long-term business. LVMH’s market value is three times the market value of 10 years ago. Rich people rarely lose their style. And certainly, founder and CEO Bernard Arnaud has recently been a buyer of his company’s shares, reaching just 50% of his family shares. Economically, the next few seasons of the industry can land with sound.
camilla.palladino@ft.com
