LVMH Watch & Jewellery (UK) Limited, which oversees distribution and owned boutiques for TAG Heuer, Hublot, Zenith and Bulgari in the UK, has recorded a 30% rise in sales for its 2016 financial year that ended December 31.
Turnover rose from £71.6 million in 2015 to £93 million in 2016.
Operating profit rocketed 62% from £5.9 million to £9.5 million over the same period.
Rob Diver, managing director for TAG Heuer UK, and director of LVMH Watch & Jewellery, pointed to TAG Heuer being the principal contributor to performance.
“Turnover has increased by 30% thanks to the successful launch of the TAG Heuer Connected Watch, a TAG Heuer price repositioning in 2015 and a full year of Hublot distribution after the integration of the brand in April 2015,” Mr Diver said in a director’s statement accompanying the financial results.
The dramatic increase in profits was partly attributed to the closure of a directly-owned retail boutique, which allowed the group to redirect staff expenses into after-sales.
“Staff numbers remained stable in the year at 141, which is the net effect of closing a retail boutique and new hires in the after sales department,” Mr Diver explains.
In a brief forward-looking forecast, Mr Diver says that the directors are satisfied with trading in 2016 and “expect performance to improve further”.
LVMH is the second major luxury watch business to report its 2016 figures. Rhone Products, the wholly owned subsidiary of Patek Philippe, reported a 14.5% rise in sales in 2016 to £142.3 million.
