Bulgari will continue to invest in China

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Sep 10, 2015

In spite of the decline in luxury goods consumption and the financial disruption that's shaking China, Bulgari announced "very positive results" for 2015 in this market. Touching upon the situation in China, Jean-Christophe Babin, head of the Italian luxury jeweler owned by LVMH, actually appeared encouraging.

"The impact of China’s slowing growth on luxury-goods sales shouldn’t be overstated. It’s not a catastrophe, it’s a market correction," he stated to Bloomberg Television. 

"Recent declines in share prices have brought world stock markets back to what we all considered a good level last year," he pointed out, noting that "with economic growth at around 6.8% in China, there are still enough new customers who can afford Bulgari’s trinkets."

Given the context, the Roman label will continue to invest in the opening of new stores and in advertising campaigns in the world's most populous nation. Bulgari's worldwide sales in July and August were "exactly in line with the first semester," Jean-Christophe Babin stated, without providing any figures.

A few days ago, Prada President Carlo Mazzi also stated that there was no question of the brand closing stores in China, since the country represents one fifth of the group's global sales.

"Until recently looked upon as an Eldorado, China nowadays is simply an interesting market. We think that the market can improve again, but it's hard to say how long this will last," he declared.