2/5
> The Louis Vuitton owner’s shares fell 7 per cent on Tuesday after poor first-quarter sales. But its reported figures don’t yet reflect much of a softening in the US market

> The main problem today is China. Consumers there have tightened their purse strings, which has hit sales in the country and, given Chinese nationals’ propensity to snap up trinkets on their travels, in the wider region too. LVMH’s revenues in Asia excluding Japan were down 11 per cent in the first three months of 2025

3/5
> Sales in Japan fell 1 per cent — a sharp reversal compared with last year’s growth.

> The issue is that even the wealthy don’t splurge when their stock portfolios are crashing. The inverse of that was visible at the end of last year: as the Trump bump drove up valuations in the stock market, US luxury shoppers came out in droves.

> Some companies are likely to weather the coming gloom better than others.

4/5
> Jewellery, as a category, is proving to be a relative outperformer, even within LVMH, which may also buoy rival Richemont. As for the really, extremely, dramatically rich, they are cushioned from the wider malaise. That helps explain why LVMH’s market capitalisation was overtaken this week by that of super-premium handbag purveyor Hermès, even though the latter does not manufacture in the US.

For all its reliance on short-term tastes, luxury is also a long-term business.

Perhaps 'because' they don't manufacture in the US.