Cartier’s Parent Company Just Saw Its Sales Slide Amid China’s Spending Slowdown

The luxury slowdown shows no signs of stopping.

Richemont—the luxury group owner of brands such as Cartier, Dunhill, Chloe, and Roger Dubuis— reported that quarter sales ending September 30 are down 1 percent, bringing its total sales to $5.1 billion, Vogue Business reports. The news comes as some of Richemont’s fellow luxury groups, including LVMH and Kering, have also revealed troubling sales figures analysts believe are due to, in part, from sluggish Chinese consumer spending.

“Obviously there is a slowdown in China that we are experiencing,” Richemont CEO Nicolas Bos told reporters. “We have no clue on how long it will last and whether we’ve reached the bottom or not.”

Just last month, LVMH, the world’s largest luxury conglomerate, saw revenue drop 3 percent in the last quarter, while Kering sales dropped a staggering 16 percent over the same period. Despite this, some luxury groups, like Prada and Hermès, have managed to buck the trend and experience an unexpected sales boom. Beyond the Asia-Pacific region, Richemont still managed to see sales growth elsewhere, from a 12 percent sales increase across the Americas to a 16 percent increase in the Middle East and Africa.

Richemont’s extensive portfolio runs across fashion, jewelry, watches, and e-commerce, and the company’s analysis revealed that each category is faring differently in the current economic climate. The jewelry division, which includes Van Cleef & Arpels, saw sales increase 4 percent even as the watch division experienced a 19 percent drop in sales. The offloading of the struggling Yoox Net-a-Porter Group in a sale to Mytheresa in October has streamlined the company’s more volatile digital holdings.

After the recent presidential election in the United States, Richemont executives remained positive about the U.S. market, even with the possibility of tariffs. “We have in the past seen good business after elections because the uncertainty has been taken out through whatever result and whatever candidate has won,” said Richemont CFO Burkhart Grund. “With that in mind, we expect our business for the time being to not be impacted either way.”