Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

LVMH Aims for Double-Digit Watch Sales Growth in Second Half

After sales rose 13 percent in the first half of 2017, the luxury group predicts a strong end to the year for TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith.
By
  • Reuters

ZURICH, Switzerland — Sales of LVMH's watch brands could maintain their double-digit percentage growth in the second half of 2017, despite tougher year-on-year comparisons, the head of the luxury company's watch business said on Thursday.

Watch and jewellery sales at the world's biggest luxury company rose 13 percent in the first half, outperforming the watch businesses of Swiss rivals Swatch Group and Richemont.

"We hope to be able to maintain this pace of growth even if the comparables are less favourable in the second half," Jean-Claude Biver, who is in charge of LVMH's TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith brands, said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

Swatch Group gave a similarly positive outlook for the second half last month.

ADVERTISEMENT

Biver said TAG Heuer's second-generation "connected" watch launched in March had become the brand's best-selling model by the end of July. The watch lets wearers switch between a smartwatch head and a traditional mechanical watch movement.

He also said TAG Heuer was working on a smartwatch that could connect to high-speed mobile networks without needing a linked smartphone within range, confirming a report in Swiss newspaper Handelszeitung.

Biver's comments came just days after media reports that Apple Inc planned to release a version of its smartwatch later this year with an LTE (Long Term Evolution) modem to connect to high-speed networks.

"We still need to solve some technical problems and find agreements with the different operators in the countries where we'd like to sell this LTE watch," Biver said, without giving further details.

By Silke Koltrowitz; editor: David Clarke. 

WF6AKN4F5RCK7OJGVWGZOCNOSQ

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from News & Analysis
Fashion News, Analysis and Business Intelligence from the leading digital authority on the global fashion industry.
view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections