European luxury companies’ losses reach $350 billion since the start of 2026
Key Facts
Reuters reported on October 13 that the 10 largest European listed luxury goods companies in the STOXX Europe Luxury 10 index had lost about $350 billion in market value since the start of 2026. The agency linked the losses to fading hopes for a sector recovery and continued weakness in China. The figures come as third-quarter results revealed uneven performance among major companies and brands. Kering recorded revenue of 3,345 million euros, flat on a reported basis and down 1% on a like-for-like basis, while Gucci revenue fell 6% on the same basis. LVMH, meanwhile, posted organic revenue growth in the first nine months, but fashion and leather goods sales contracted in the third quarter.
Kering said third-quarter revenue was affected by a tougher comparison base, slowing macroeconomic trends and the expected distribution of performance between the two halves of the year. The company added that customer traffic remained the main constraint on performance during the quarter. Gucci revenue was 1,291 million euros, down 4% on a reported basis and 6% on a like-for-like basis compared with the previous year. Kering said lower customer traffic weighed on performance in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly mainland China and Japan. The decline at the group’s largest brand was therefore consistent with the company’s warning about weaker traffic in key Asian markets.
At LVMH, revenue totaled 57.1 billion euros in the first nine months of 2026, with organic growth of 2%. The group said third-quarter organic growth reflected a less buoyant environment in China, while the United States, Europe and Japan posted good growth. In the fashion and leather goods division, revenue for the period was 26,391 million euros, down 4% on a reported basis and 2% organically year on year. The division’s organic revenue fell 5% in the third quarter. The figures highlight the divergence between the group’s overall trajectory and the performance of its largest division, as fashion and leather goods remained under pressure in a quarter marked by uneven results across regions.
Chinese retail data offer a broader picture of consumer spending during the period. The National Bureau of Statistics said total retail sales of consumer goods rose 1.1% year on year in September, the same rate recorded in the first nine months of the year. The bureau said September growth accelerated by 0.7 percentage points from August. But sales at brand-exclusive stores, within the category of stores above the statistical size threshold, fell 10.3% year on year between January and September. Over the same period, sales of clothing, footwear, headwear and textiles rose 4.6%, highlighting differing trends across product categories and sales channels.
In September, sales of gold, silver and jewelry in China fell 9.6% year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The bureau said the growth rates for categories in its table were not adjusted for price factors. At the macroeconomic level, China’s GDP grew 4.5% year on year in the third quarter, after growth of 5.0% in the first quarter and 4.3% in the second quarter. These indicators show a mix of uneven quarterly economic growth and a limited increase in retail sales, while some categories and brand-exclusive stores declined. The performance of any single category alone does not establish the direction of the entire luxury sector, but it coincides with companies’ reports of weaker customer traffic or a less buoyant environment in China.
Pressure on Kering was reflected in European trading on October 23, when its shares fell 10.4% after third-quarter results, according to Reuters. In the same session, the STOXX 600 fell 0.13% to 636.50 points at 0718 GMT. The share decline coincided with the announcement of Gucci’s quarterly revenue, which fell 6% on a like-for-like basis, and with Kering’s indication that weaker customer traffic continued to weigh on Asia. The company had closed a net 105 stores in the first nine months of the year, exceeding its annual target of 100 closures ahead of schedule. Kering said it was targeting at least 125 net closures during 2026.