LVMH Watch & Jewellery (UK) Ltd, distributor of TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith for the UK and Ireland, has reported robust sales for the pandemic-hit 2020, with turnover dipping by just 8.9% from £96.2 million to £87.6 million for the 12 months to December 31.
LVMH and Bulgari watch sales are not included as they report with their fashion and jewellery businesses.
Given difficulties with production, which clipped output by around 25-30% for major Swiss watch manufacturers, LVMH Watch & Jewellery has punched above its weight in both allocation of watches compared to other countries, and with sales.
Swiss watch exports to the UK dropped by over 30% from CHF 1.37 billion in 2019 to CHF 1.03 billion, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.
Operating Profit for LVMH Watch & Jewellery dropped by 13.6% from £6.6 million to £5.7 million, but net assets for the company were flat at £11.9 million.
The company claimed £617,632 in Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme payments as some staff were furloughed from April to December and an additional £258,978 was received in rent relief.
“The company is not reliant on government assured schemes in 2021,” a note with the financial results states.
The furlough scheme must have done its job because the business still employed 152 people at the end of December, just one person fewer than a year earlier.
