LVMH growth slows amid tough competition

Prime market: Pedestrians wait to cross a road in front of a Louis Vuitton store in Hong Kong. Asia, excluding Japan, was LVMH’s biggest region at the end of September, accounting for 36% of sales. ―Bloomberg

LONDON: LVMH’s sales growth eased from the previous quarter, when purchases of Louis Vuitton bags and other luxury items surged after stores reopened from lockdowns.

Organic revenue at the fashion and leather goods unit rose 24% in the third quarter from a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Analysts had expected a gain of 21%. In the second quarter, sales in that key division had more than doubled from a year earlier, when stores were mostly shut during the first wave of Covid-19.