- Cartier owner Richemont recorded a share price loss of 5.2% in Zurich
- The post-Covid feel-good factor in China has also evaporated, the group said
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Cartier owner Richemont is the latest luxury goods group to warn that economic worries and global tensions are affecting business.
The Swiss company said third-quarter sales between July and September were just 5 percent higher than a year earlier.
That was a significant slowdown from the 19 percent increase in the previous quarter.
As a result, sales rose less than expected in the six months, rising 6 percent to £9 billion, while profits were also lower than hoped at £1.3 billion.
Richemont shares fell 5.2 percent in Zurich.
Richemont Chairman Johann Rupert said inflation, slowing economic growth and geopolitical uncertainties were dampening sentiment.
In China, too, the feel-good factor had evaporated after the Corona crisis, as a real estate crisis and record-breaking youth unemployment weighed on the mood.
“They don’t go out and ruin their credit cards,” Rupert said, referring to Chinese customers who account for 30 percent of Richemont’s sales.
He said he was “very positive about the medium-term outlook.”