Asian focus drives DFS growth

John Rimmer

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The retailer's parent company LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton reports sales of Eu14bn in 2005, helped by revenue growth of 11% in its Selective Retailing division

LVMH Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton recorded revenue of €14bn ($17.1bn) in 2005, an increase of 11% on the previous year. The final quarter of the year yielded €4.3bn ($5.24bn) in sales, up by 13% on the previous year. The company posted record sales in December, driven by the Louis Vuitton fashion and accessories brand and by LVMH's Wines & Spirits division.

Sales at LVMH's Selective Retailing division, which includes DFS Group and Sephora, reached €3.65bn ($4.45bn) last year, up by 11.3% on 2004. The company hailed the "good revenue growth" posted by DFS, which it said had "reaped the rewards of its efforts to develop its Asian client base". LVMH cited the opening of the DFS Galleria on the Japanese holiday island of Okinawa as central to the retailer's growth last year.

Most of LVMH's other divisions recorded double-digit sales growth last year, including Wines & Spirits (17%), Fashion & Leather Goods (10%) and Watches & Jewellery (16%). Perfumes & Cosmetics recorded revenue growth of 7%, with Miss Dior Chérie, Dior Homme and Kiss Kiss by Guerlain cited as the division's most successful new launches.

LVMH confirmed that it would announce double-digit profit growth for 2005 in its next statement in March, and promised to continue focusing on its "star brands". It is targeting "a tangible increase in profit" in 2006.