By Maura Carlin, Editor
Image courtesy: lvmh.com
Luxury conglomerate LVMH reported third-quarter organic growth of 1%, a slowdown from the slight momentum seen in Q2. Group revenues for the quarter totaled €18.5 billion ($20.7 billion).
Fashion & Leather Goods (FLG), its largest division, which includes Louis Vuitton, Dior, Loro Piana, and Celine, saw revenue drop 5% over the same quarter of 2025.
For FLG, the past year has been a period of creative change, or musical chairs. Jonathan Anderson took over Dior Women’s and Men’s, Loewe hired the founders of Proenza Schouler, Fendi brought Maria Grazia Chiuri (formerly of Dior Women’s) back to LVMH, and Celine is riding with Michael Rider. LVMH says it is encouraged by the results.
But, it comes back to China. Citing the “uncertain geopolitical and economic environment” and “a less buoyant environment in China” LVMH called the results “solid” and pointed to “good growth” in the United States, Europe, and Japan. During the financial presentation, Chief Financial Officer Cécile Cabinis elaborated: “In the third quarter specifically, Asia was penalised by a sharp macro-led deterioration in Chinese consumer sentiment, with a tangible impact on discretionary expenses.”
Louis Vuitton in Shanghai
Organic revenue in China (more broadly Asia not including Japan) declined 5% year-over-year, while it grew 6% and 5%, respectively in Japan and the United States. Revenue in Europe rose 4% for the same time period. The geographic revenue mix remained mostly the same with Asia representing 27% of revenue, the US 25%, Europe (excluding France) 18%, France and Japan both at 8%. The other markets, which includes the Middle East, held steady at 14%.
Dior Store opening in China
Not all divisions had negative revenue comparisons. Wine & Spirits also saw a positive revenue increase of 6%, while Selective Retailing, which includes Sephora, rose 8%.
Watches & Jewelry sales jumped 6% over Q3 2025, even with the price of gold getting higher. Asked whether brand price increases were expected, Cabanis did not expect to see as much in the future. LVMH points to the ongoing success of the Tiffany and Bulgari iconic products, particularly watches for the latter.
Image courtesy: Tiffany & Co.
One question not asked (or answered) was whether the results reflected a shift in consumer preference from FLG, particularly handbags, to jewelry. Over the last year, luxury conglomerates heavy in jewelry, found greater success than those reliant on fashion, with many speculating that customers are preferring items with intrinsic value — like gold and diamonds.
It appears that for LVMH, the handbag isn’t dead yet. When discussing the results of individual brands, Cabanis repeatedly looked to the handbags, both iconic and new. For Louis Vuitton, she spoke of the strength of Monogram, the Speedy and P9 (waitlisted she says), the Squire, and the Multipass. Speaking of Dior, it was the reimagining of the Lady Dior and Toujours, and Anderson’s Cigale; also mentioned were the Fendi Baguette and the Loewe Amazona.
Image courtesy: @voguehongkong. Taylor Swift with a Dior Cigale bag
Although LVMH typically provides little detail on its Maisons’ results, Cabanis said it was happy with Dior’s performance, especially the women’s bags and ready-to-wear, and that the brand had outperformed. Loro Piana reportedly was strong, Rimowa outperformed, and Celine was doing better, to use her words. Louis Vuitton was below average, attributed to reluctant consumers in China and a logistics issue
As for what this says about the luxury industry as a whole, we will see what other companies report in the next few weeks. Likely, the situation in China will hit broadly, and it will be interesting to see who, if anyone, can overcome the macroeconomic forces that LVMH repeatedly cited.
Do you think the luxury industry is in trouble? And are you still buying handbags?
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