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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
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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.

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LVMH Shares Drop after Missing Second-quarter Estimates

A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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LVMH Shares Drop after Missing Second-quarter Estimates

A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Shares in LVMH (LVMH.PA) fell as much as 6.5% in early Wednesday trade and were on track for their biggest one-day drop since October 2023 after second-quarter sales growth at the French luxury goods giant missed analysts' consensus estimate.

The world's biggest luxury group said late Tuesday its quarterly sales rose 1% year on year to 20.98 billion euros ($22.76 billion), undershooting the 21.6 billion expected on average by analysts polled by LSEG.

At 1000 GMT, LVMH's shares were down 4.5%.

The earnings miss weighed on other luxury stocks, with Hermes (HRMS.PA), down around 2% and Kering (PRTP.PA), off 3%.

Kering is scheduled to report second-quarter sales after the market close and Hermes reports on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Jittery investors are looking for evidence that the industry will pick up from a recent slowdown, as inflation-hit shoppers hold off from splashing out on designer fashion.

JPMorgan analyst Chiara Battistini cut full year profit forecasts by 2-3% for the group, citing softer trends at LVMH's fashion and leather goods division, home to Louis Vuitton and Dior.

"The soft print is likely to add to ongoing investors’ concerns on the sector more broadly in our view, confirming that even best-in-class players like LVMH cannot be immune from the challenging backdrop," said Battistini in a note to clients.

The weakness of the yen, which has prompted a flood of Chinese shoppers to Japan seeking bargains on luxury goods, added pressure to margins, another source of concern.

Equita cut 2024 sales estimates for LVMH by 3% - attributing 1% to currency fluctuations - and lowered its second half organic sales estimate to 7% growth from 10% growth previously.

The lack of visibility for the second half beyond the easing of comparative figures - as the Chinese post-pandemic lockdown bounce tapered off a year ago - is unlikely to improve investor sentiment to the luxury sector, Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet said in an email to clients.

"No miracle with the luxury bellwether; sector likely to remain out of favour," he wrote.

Jefferies analysts said the miss came as investors eye Chinese shoppers for their potential to "resume their pre-COVID role as the locomotive of industry growth and debate when Western consumers will have fully digested their COVID overspend".

LVMH shares have been volatile since the luxury slowdown emerged, and are down about 20% over the past year, with middle-class shoppers in China, the world's No. 2 economy, a key focus as they rein in purchases at home amid a property slump and job insecurity.

LVMH offered some reassurance, with finance chief Jean-Jacques Guiony telling analysts during a call on Tuesday that Chinese customers were "holding up quite well," while business with US and European customers was "slightly better".