The Watches & Jewelry business group recorded organic revenue growth of 19% in the first quarter of 2008. TAG Heuer performed extremely well thanks to the successful Grand Carrera collection. Zenith launched a new model, Chronomaster Grande Date.
The exceptional success of the Christal collection was confirmed at Montres Dior. Chaumet and De Beers increased their revenue and continued their network expansion. Innovations by TAG Heuer, Zenith and Dior unveiled at the Basel fair contributed to large increases in orders.
In Selective Retailing, organic revenue growth reached 15% in the first quarter of 2008. DFS continued to benefit from the development in Asia of Chinese tourism and recorded consistent revenue growth. The increase in Japanese tourist spending supported by a stronger yen compared to the dollar also contributed to this good performance.
Sephora recorded strong growth on a comparable store basis in all its markets and significantly increased its market share. Its expansion has continued in the first quarter thanks to new store openings and a strong culture of product innovations, which attracted new clients.
Thanks to the strength and creativity of its brands and its expansion into new markets, LVMH will continue its growth in 2008 despite the challenging monetary environment and an uncertain economic climate at the beginning of this year.
Increasing market share and the profitability of its leading brands as well as improving the results of its developing companies remain LVMH top priorities. All of these elements allow us to confirm the objective of tangible growth in the Group's results in 2008.