The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
GENEVA, Switzerland — Richemont, the maker of Piaget jewelry and IWC Schaffhausen timepieces, said chief executive officer Richard Lepeu and chief financial officer Gary Saage will retire next year as it reported a decline in first-half profit.
Deputy chief Financial officer Burkhart Grund will replace Saage, the Geneva-based company said in a statement Friday. Johann Rupert will remain executive chairman.
Operating profit fell 43 percent to €798 million ($885 million) in the 12 months through September. Last month, the company estimated a 45 percent decline, and analysts had predicted €765 million.
Ebbing demand from Asia to the US has weighed on the Swiss watch industry, exacerbated by slowing tourist flows to Europe following terrorist attacks. The Swiss watch industry is suffering its longest slump in exports since monthly records began in 1988.
ADVERTISEMENT
By Corinne Gretler; Matthew Boyle, Thomas Mulier and Paul Jarvis.
Related Articles:
Richemont CEOs Are Top-Paid Europe Executives After VW Boss
The designer has always been an arch perfectionist, a quality that has been central to his success but which clashes with the demands on creative directors today, writes Imran Amed.
This week, Prada and Miu Miu reported strong sales as LVMH slowed and Kering retreated sharply. In fashion’s so-called “quiet luxury” moment, consumers may care less about whether products have logos and more about what those logos stand for.
The luxury goods maker is seeking pricing harmonisation across the globe, and adjusts prices in different markets to ensure that the company is”fair to all [its] clients everywhere,” CEO Leena Nair said.
Hermes saw Chinese buyers snap up its luxury products as the Kelly bag maker showed its resilience amid a broader slowdown in demand for the sector.