Dior Couture sales up 5% in 2016

On Thursday Dior Couture published its 2016 annual results, which were positive thanks to a rebound in sales after the summer.

The fashion label's sales grew 5% at constant exchange rates in 2016, reaching €1.936 billion, driven by a strong acceleration in the year's last quarter, in which sales leaped up by 12%.

The label belongs to the LVMH group and operates about 200 stores worldwide, generating through them approximately 90% of its revenue. The remainder comes from third-party distributors.

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Dior's results, like those of LVMH's fashion and leather goods division, improved in the second half of the year as the luxury goods sector's outlook became markedly rosier, having been affected in the first half of 2016 by China's slow-down, the slump in the US market, Hong Kong's decline and the plunge in tourism in Europe, following the terrorist attacks in France and Germany. The industry notably benefited from a rebound in Chinese demand and from the rise in London's appeal thanks to the pound's weakness.

Several analysts expect demand to accelerate in 2017, with domestic consumption in China thriving and a renewed rise in expenditure by Russian and Middle-Eastern customers, owing to the upward trend of  oil prices.

In 2016, Dior Couture generated a current operating income of €252 million, equivalent to a 5% increase and to an operating margin of 13.1%, compared to 12.8% in 2015.

Dior's new creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, presented in January her first haute couture collection for the label, to the critics' plaudits. Formerly at Valentino, Chiuri is a recognised expert in leather goods and is extremely proficient with social media, a crucial asset for attracting the younger generations.