LVMH organic sales growth slows to 1 per cent as Chinese demand weakens
Fashion and leather goods sales fell 5 per cent on an organic basis, while Sephora’s division and other businesses recorded gains.
LVMH reported €18.5 billion in revenue for the quarter ending in September, an increase of 1.2 per cent from a year earlier. Organic growth missed expectations, reaching 1 per cent compared with 3 per cent in the preceding quarter.
The luxury group said trading conditions in China were less favourable, although sales growth remained good across Europe, Japan and the United States. Weaker Chinese demand weighed on its fashion and leather goods business, where organic sales declined 5 per cent. Deutsche Bank said analysts had expected a fall of roughly 2 per cent.
Other divisions expanded. Selective retailing, which includes cosmetics retailer Sephora, recorded organic growth of 8 per cent. Watches and jewellery grew 6 per cent on the same basis, as did wines and spirits.
For the first nine months, LVMH reported sales of €57.1 billion and organic growth of 2 per cent. The organic measure strips out exchange-rate effects and changes in the businesses owned by the group. LVMH said the breadth of its portfolio helped it withstand geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Deutsche Bank analysts said the figures could lead to further reductions in earnings forecasts for the latter half of 2026 and for 2027. They regarded the weakness as cyclical, rather than structural.
