Swiss luxury group Richemont’s jewellery brands Buccellati, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, “delivered a step-change in performance” with combined sales of €11.083 billion for the year that ended 31st March 2022, an outstanding 49% sales growth over the prior year and a 54% increase over the two-year period. The jewellery maisons benefitted by the return to in-person high-jewellery events.
The jewellery division’s operating margin reached 34.3% versus 31.0% in the prior year. “Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels posted an outstanding performance, increasing their market leadership. Buccellati also developed successfully, further expanding its international footprint with nine new directly operated stores,” Richemont said.
“All iconic collections outperformed, from Opera Tulle and Macri at Buccellati, Love, Panthère, Santos and Ballon Bleu at Cartier to Alhambra and Perlée at Van Cleef & Arpels. This outstanding performance across all Maisons, price points, regions and distribution channels resulted in the jewellery maisons crossing the €11 billion sales threshold for the first time. Growth was the strongest in the jewellery maisons’ directly operated store network which contributed over three quarters of the business area’s sales.
With a 65% increase over the previous year, operating profit rose faster than sales leading to a 330 basis point improvement in operating profit margin to 34.3%, the company said. This excellent performance reflected higher sales, increased utilisation of manufacturing facilities, further manufacturing efficiency gains and ongoing cost discipline, it added.
“To support future growth for the jewellery maisons, investments accelerated into manufacturing capabilities as well as into significant boutique projects which included major renovations, such as the Milan Montenapoleone and New York Fifth Avenue stores for Cartier, as well store openings including the Buccellati flagship store in Tokyo Ginza and a Van Cleef & Arpels store in Highland Park Village in Dallas,” Richemont stated.