BIG LUXURY BRANDS OUTPERFORM THE SMALL

Dior, Gucci, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and other marquee luxury brands have outperformed their smaller counterparts as the world’s economic shutdown began to ease.

LVMH, which owns Dior, Luis Vuitton, Moët champagne, and Hennessy cognac reported a loss of 27 percent in revenue during the worst of the shutdown; Kering SA, which owns Gucci, lost 30 percent. 

But customers flocked back to those brands when lockdowns eased, especially in China, and the companies report sales at or above pre-pandemic levels.

In contrast, Ferrigamo’s revenue dove 60 percent in the second quarter and Tod’s, which will announce results 8 September, could book an €80-million loss, according to analysts at Equita, an investment bank.

LVMH’s revenue was buoyed by Dior’s and Louis Vuitton’s well-developed e-commerce operations. Kering saw strong sales among its Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta brands.

TREND FORECAST: Smaller luxury brands that are losing sales will become ripe takeover targets for bigger conglomerates such as Kering and LVMH. However, while the Bigs grow bigger, so will their debt load. And since a masked, locked down society is less fashion conscious, plus our forecast of the “Greatest Depression,” the big brands will grow weaker.