LVMH’s 2021 Jewelry, Watch Sales Double

Paris—LVMH’s jewelry and watch sales surged in fiscal 2021 following its acquisition of Tiffany & Co. earlier that year.

The luxury conglomerate’s jewelry sales more than doubled in both its fourth-quarter and full-year results.

Quarterly revenue in the watches and jewelry segment was up 157 percent year-over-year to €2.8 billion ($3.1 billion) and up 145 percent compared with pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
 
For the full year, revenue in this category totaled nearly €9 billion ($10 billion), up 167 percent year-over-year and up 103 percent compared to 2019.

Overall revenue for the fourth quarter totaled €20 billion ($22.3 billion), up 40 percent year-over-year, and up 31 percent compared with 2019.
 
For the full year, revenue totaled €64.2 billion ($71.5 billion), up 44 percent year-over-year and up 20 percent when compared with 2019. 
 
LVMH's acquisition of Tiffany & Co. closed in January 2021, making this the first year the jeweler's sales are included in LVMH's overall sales.

The American jewelry brand put on a “record performance” in terms of revenue, profits, and cash flow, said LVMH, and captured customer attention via its high-profile collaborations.

Perhaps the best example of that is power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z servings as the faces of “About Love,” the jeweler’s new advertising campaign.

Tiffany’s high-end jewelry sales reached an all-time high, due in part to the success of its annual jewelry catalog, the Blue Book.

There was a growing interest in its Knot collection and continued development in its iconic Tiffany T and HardWear lines, said LVMH. Its relaunch of designs by Jean Schlumberger also did well.

During a results presentation Thursday, CEO Bernard Arnault, who called Tiffany’s integration “the event of the year,” noted the brand performed exceedingly well even though its flagship New York store, a strong revenue driver, was still closed for renovations. The store is expected to reopen at the end of 2022.

Bulgari put on a “good” performance, said LVMH, particularly in its own stores.

“Bulgari seeks to concentrate now, as Tiffany is doing, on its jewelry sales in its own stores,” said Arnault.

Its Bzero1, Serpenti, and Diva lines did well, as did its high jewelry line, Magnifica. Its Octo Finissimo watch won the coveted Aiguille d’Or grand prize.

Chaumet, meanwhile, performed especially well in Japan, said Arnault.

The brand has had a busy year, launching a new diamond cut called the Taille Impératrice, celebrating its long-standing history through a “Joséphine and Napoléon” exhibition at its Place Vendôme store in Paris, and introducing “Torsade,” its new high jewelry collection.

TAG Heuer also had a good year, signing Ryan Gosling as an ambassador and teaming up with Porsche on a collection.

Arnault wore a TAG Heuer Porsche Carerra on his wrist during the presentation, adding the watch is “so successful that it’s difficult to find.”

The brand also launched a limited-edition Super Mario version of its smartwatch to appeal to gamers.

Hublot collaborated with famed Japanese artist Takashi Murakami on a collection. The brand performed especially well in the U.S. and China, said LVMH.

It signed tennis star Novak Djokvoic, who made headlines for attempting to attend the Australian Open while unvaccinated against COVID-19, as its ambassador earlier this year.

Speaking about Fred, the jewelry brand “is rebounding with a great team,” said Arnault. The brand has continued its growth, finding success with its Pretty Woman collection.

Zenith’s new products also have performed well, he said. Its new Zenith Chronomaster Sport won the 2021 “Best Chronograph” award at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

Arnault also addressed the metaverse, an area in which Kering-owned Gucci and Balenciaga have joined other luxury brands, but he noted NFTs were not LVMH’s focus at the moment.

He suggested others take a cautious approach to the prospect, drawing a connection to the dot-com bubble.

“At this stage, we are very much in the real world selling real products,” he said. “We are not interested in selling virtual sneakers for €10. We’re not into that.”

LVMH did not provide fiscal guidance for 2022 but said it remains confident that its current growth will continue.