France's SMCP Strikes Deal with Reliance to Expand Into India

FILE PHOTO: People walk outside a Reliance complex which houses Jio World Plaza mall in Mumbai, India, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk outside a Reliance complex which houses Jio World Plaza mall in Mumbai, India, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
TT

France's SMCP Strikes Deal with Reliance to Expand Into India

FILE PHOTO: People walk outside a Reliance complex which houses Jio World Plaza mall in Mumbai, India, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk outside a Reliance complex which houses Jio World Plaza mall in Mumbai, India, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

Fashion group SMCP, owner of French fashion labels Sandro and Maje, said on Thursday it signed a deal with Reliance to expand into India and will join other high-end European brands opening stores in the Jio World Plaza mall in Mumbai.
"There aren't a lot of accessible luxury fashion labels in India so we think it's time to be pioneering," said SMCP CEO Isabelle Guichot, citing India's wealth and growing population of younger generations among reasons for entering the country.
After years of testing the Indian market with outlets in luxury hotels, high-end European labels are seeking to expand their retail presence there to tap its strong economic growth and a rapid rise in the number of local millionaires, Reuters reported.
SMCP did not disclose the financial terms of its partnership with Reliance Brands, which will become the exclusive distributor in India of Sandro and Maje. Reliance plans to open around 10 stores selling the SMCP brands in the next three to five years, said Guichot, starting with the mall in Mumbai developed by Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani.
Reliance Brands, a subsidiary of Ambani's Reliance Retail Ventures, has partnership deals with dozens of high-end European and American labels, including Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Valentino and Tiffany.



Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
TT

Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Birkin-bag maker Hermes reported a 13% rise in second-quarter sales on Thursday, demonstrating the continued appetite from wealthy shoppers for its luxury handbags, even as less affluent consumers pull back.

Sales at the French luxury group grew to 3.7 billion euros ($4.02 billion), a 13% organic sales rise that strips out currency fluctuations. The figure was in line with analyst expectations, according to a Visible Alpha consensus.

Operating profit for the first half was 3.1 billion euros, compared to a forecast from consensus provider Visible Alpha for 3.2 billion.

One of the most steady performers in the luxury goods sector -- even as economic conditions worsen -- the French group's results stand out after a string of disappointing earnings updates from peers which have raised investor concern about uncertain prospects for the sector in the coming months.

Hermes' famously classic designs and tight management of production and stock have helped reinforce the label's aura of exclusivity, and CEO Axel Dumas told reporters the company had seen "no big interruption in trends".

However, he said Hermes was seeing slightly less traffic with aspirational clients, which was impacting higher volume products like fashion accessories.