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RICHEMONT

Richemont joins up with Chinese luxury chain

Geneva-based luxury goods group Richemont and the world's largest jewellery chain, Chinese Chow Tai Fook, have agreed to create a joint venture, Le Temps newspaper is reporting.

Published: 20 January 2013 17:16 CET
Richemont joins up with Chinese luxury chain
Photo: Richemont

Citing a source inside Richemont, the newspaper said in an online report on Saturday that the two luxury brands would each control 50 percent of the new company, which would distribute watches made by Richemont luxury watchmaking brand Baume & Mercier in mainland China.
 
It will be tasked with boosting the Geneva brand's sales in China, the world's second largest market for luxury goods, Le Temps reported.

Chow Tai Fook, which was founded more than 80 years ago and went public in late 2011, meanwhile views the deal as a way to accelerate its watch distribution business, according to the report.

The Chinese company already distributes a long line of Swiss brands, several of them owned by Richemont, including Cartier, Piaget and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
   
No financial details of the deal were revealed.

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SWATCH

Swatch reports higher profits in first half

Swiss watchmaker Swatch says that its profits rose in the first six months, but its performance was dampened by the strength of the Swiss franc.

Published: 21 July 2017 09:12 CEST
Swatch reports higher profits in first half
Omega belongs to the Swatch brand. Photo: Matthew Eisman/AFP

“The overvalued Swiss franc dampened growth in the first half of the year,”Swatch said in its first half report.

“As in the previous year, the first half of 2017 was characterized by worldwide turbulence,” the report said.

“However, the Swatch Group, with its 20 strong brands and its own retail network, is very well represented worldwide, and was therefore able to generate net sales of 3.7 billion Swiss francs (3.3 billion euros, $3.9 billion).”

That represented a fractional decline of 0.3 percent compared with the corresponding period a year earlier.

At constant exchange rates, sales would have risen by 1.2 percent.

Net profit grew by 6.8 percent to 281 million Swiss francs (254 million euros), slightly short of analysts' expectations.

Looking ahead, Swatch said it “anticipates very positive growth in local currency in the second half of the year. In addition to its already strong own retail business, wholesale should also develop positively”.