LVMH fashion slump
- LVMH reported overall sales rose 1% in Q1 2026, but its fashion and leather goods division contracted. (vogue.com) - The fashion and leather goods division fell 2% year‑over‑year in Q1 2026, per company figures. (vogue.com) - CEO Bernard Arnault warned a return to growth hinges on the Middle East crisis outcome, calling it potentially catastrophic. (reuters.com)
LVMH’s biggest business shrank again at the start of 2026, extending the slowdown in luxury fashion even as the group posted slight overall growth. (lvmh.com) The French luxury group said first-quarter revenue reached €19.1 billion, up 1% on an organic basis but down 6% as reported because of currency effects. Fashion and leather goods, the division that includes Louis Vuitton and Dior, fell 2% organically and 9% as reported to €9.25 billion. (lvmh.com) LVMH said the conflict in the Middle East cut about 1 percentage point from the group’s organic growth in the quarter after hurting business in March. The company said the United States started the year well, Europe and Japan were supported by local demand, and Asia excluding Japan kept improving from trends seen in the second half of 2025. (lvmh.com) The weakness matters because fashion and leather goods is LVMH’s profit engine and largest division by sales. In 2025, that unit generated €37.77 billion in revenue and €13.21 billion in recurring operating profit, with a 35.0% operating margin. (lvmh.com) The slowdown did not start this month. LVMH said fashion and leather goods revenue declined in 2025, though trends improved in the second half, after 2024 had been helped by unusually strong tourist spending in Japan. (lvmh.com) The broader group has been leaning on other businesses to offset that softness. In the first quarter of 2026, watches and jewelry grew 7% organically, selective retailing rose 4%, and wines and spirits increased 5%, while perfumes and cosmetics were flat. (lvmh.com) LVMH entered 2026 after two years of slower expansion. The group reported €84.7 billion in revenue in 2024, then €80.8 billion in 2025, with fourth-quarter organic growth of 1% in both 2024 and 2025. (lvmh.com 1) (lvmh.com 2) For now, LVMH is still growing at the group level, but the recovery investors want is not showing up in the business that carries Louis Vuitton and Dior. The next test will be whether that division can turn positive after a first quarter shaped by weaker March demand and geopolitical disruption. (lvmh.com)
