The Louis, a museum-like space in the form of a cruise ship in Shanghai, has seen surprising luggage sales. [Image credit: LVMH]

Global luxury leader, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, saw revenue fall below €60 billion in the first nine months of the year as its biggest division, fashion and leather goods slipped by -6% (organic*), while Selective Retailing – the division in which travel retailer DFS Group sits – grew the fastest at +3% (see chart below).

The first nine months delivered €58.1 billion, down -2% while the third quarter offered some hope with +1% growth.

Again, it was the Selective Retailing division that drove the increase, up +7%, led by Sephora, which LVMH said “achieved a remarkable performance, once again delivering sustained growth in revenue”.

Sephora, as in the past, has delivered gains in market share in many countries this year.

Selective Retailing stands out for its strong performance.

DFS also saw some improvement. In an investor call on Tuesday evening after markets closed, Cécil Cabanis, LVMH’s Chief Financial Officer, said that while Sephora was the growth driver, there was “continued improvement at DFS.”

The travel retailer’s revenue trends improve in the third quarter, in particular in Macau and Hong Kong. In a statement, LVMH said: “The operational streamlining measures taken since the beginning of the year are bearing fruit. DFS saw improved footfall in Hong Kong and Macau, and a good performance in Japan at Okinawa.” However, the conglomerate did not share information on DFS’s profitability.

LVMH revenue by division up to Q3 2025.

All regions except Europe see Q3 pick-up

Geographically, LVMH said that Europe and the United States benefited from “solid local demand” in the first nine months of 2024. Japan was down, having previously been boosted by growth in tourist spending, due to the much weaker yen, and Asia (excluding Japan) has been on a steadily improving trend.

However, the nine-month revenues for each of the four regions were still all negative or flat (see chart below), despite improvements in Q3. And Cabanis warned that Q4 would be tougher on a comparison basis, though the comps would ease off next year. “We are still in a challenging environment,” she said.

Asia (excluding Japan) has experienced the strongest rebound over the past nine months.

In Europe, a third-quarter revenue decline of -2% was the result of a fall in tourist spending as travellers were hit by currency fluctuations, which weighed more on the three months to September than earlier in the year.

LVMH creativity to the fore

Despite a still unstable geopolitical and economic environment, LVMH has continued to push creativity in its collections and through unusual in-store experiences. The most epic was the exceptional architecture of The Louis, a museum-like space in the form of a cruise ship in Shanghai that draws on Louis Vuitton’s historical links to travel.

The project has received a very high number of visitors, and Cabanis said: “The Louis has a halo effect. It is a space that is small, but makes up in terms of productivity. It is now one of our leading locations for luggage sales. The space goes beyond transaction due to the way we bond with consumers there.”

Also a highlight of the quarter was the launch of La Beauté Louis Vuitton, a new creative universe led by Dame Pat McGrath, with the emphasis on the composition, innovation, and sustainability of Louis Vuitton makeup. It has been a major success according to LVMH.

Though Cabanis did not directly address DFS and the travel retail channel, she said, referencing China: “In the Chinese cluster, we are getting very close to stabilisation – negative, but now in single digits. The Chinese tourist part of the purchases is also improving a lot, but is still showing a double-digit decline.”

She added: “The priority for us is to invest in the desirability of our brands in terms of retail, execution, and quality. This is what matters. Often in downward cycles, some people cut investment to protect their margin. It can work in the short term, but it’s not the right call for the long term.”

[* On a constant consolidation scope and currency basis. All percentages are organic unless otherwise stated.]

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