Gucci, Saint Laurent and Stella McCartney defy China slowdown with sales up 3.1%
Luxury brands, such as Gucci, Saint Laurent and Stella McCartney, have put in better-than-expected 3Q2015 results, despite a slowdown and anti-corruption rules in China affecting luxury labels.  Kering, who owns the brands, posted an expected 0.4% drop in like-for-like third quarter sales as spending by Chinese tourists in Western Europe and Japan only partially offset declines elsewhere in Asia.  

The ceo of French-based Kering, said the group was boosted by tourists shopping in Europe and Japan

The slowdown in China is still hurting luxury labels but the owner of brands including Gucci, Saint Laurent and Stella McCartney put in a better-than-expected third-quarter performance yesterday with same-store sales up 3.1 per cent, writes Laura Chesters.

French-based Kering said group turnover for the period reached £2.9billion.

Chairman and chief executive François-Henri Pinault said the group was boosted by tourists shopping in Europe and Japan despite the ‘volatile macroeconomic and monetary environment’.

The group launched an ‘action plan’ at Gucci to improve sales and last year pushed out its former management.

It is now led by chief executive Marco Bizzarri and creative head Alessandro Michele – formerly senior accessories designer at Fendi – and Pinault said the plan was ‘moving forward’.

The Italian company – which is Kering’s largest brand – reported a 0.4 per cent fall in sales in the quarter with analysts expecting improvement to only appear next year.