Core Viewpoint - LVMH's financial performance for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, continues to be impacted by the industry's cyclical downturn, with total revenue declining by 5% to €80.8 billion, operating profit down 9% to €17.755 billion, and net profit down 13% to €10.878 billion, primarily due to poor performance in the fashion and leather goods segment [2][5] Group 1: Financial Performance - In Q4 2025, LVMH's revenue decreased by 5.1% year-on-year to €22.72 billion, although organic revenue grew by 1%, marking the second consecutive quarter of growth after two quarters of decline [4] - The fashion and leather goods segment saw organic sales decline by 3% in Q4, a worsening from the 2% decline in Q3, while the perfume and cosmetics segment fell by 1% [4] - The watch and jewelry segment, along with premium retail businesses like DFS and Sephora, performed well with organic revenue growth of 8% and 7% respectively in Q4, exceeding market expectations [4] Group 2: Segment Performance - For the full year 2025, the fashion and leather goods segment revenue fell by 8% to €37.77 billion, while the watch and jewelry segment saw a slight decline of 1% to €10.486 billion [5] - The perfume and cosmetics segment revenue decreased by 3% to €8.174 billion, and the wine and spirits segment revenue dropped by 9% to €5.358 billion [5] Group 3: Market Insights - The Asian market, particularly China, showed signs of improvement in the second half of 2025, with organic revenue growth of 1% in Q4, contrary to previous expectations of a decline [9] - The Japanese market experienced a 13% decline in organic revenue for the year, while the European market fell by 1%, and the U.S. market remained flat compared to the previous year [9] Group 4: Strategic Moves - LVMH's CEO Bernard Arnault announced the acquisition of additional shares in Loro Piana for approximately €1 billion, increasing the group's stake from 85% to 94%, with the family retaining 6% [7] - The company is focusing on maintaining product quality and scarcity while controlling the pace of expansion, as Loro Piana has shown rapid growth [7] Group 5: Industry Challenges - The luxury goods sector is facing challenges due to rising living costs, geopolitical uncertainties, and weakened consumer confidence, which are suppressing global luxury spending [11] - The previous strategy of frequent price increases in the luxury sector is showing adverse effects, leading to consumer dissatisfaction and a potential shift in focus towards demand recovery and value reconstruction in 2026 [12]

How significant then is this new wave of store openings for LVMH and its China strategy. At a time when we're thinking about deflation in China, a pretty weak consumer housing market that is certainly not recovered. What is driving the shift back towards luxury spending if indeed we are seeing that.Right. So the scale of the new store openings is certainly significant because we're talking about four major LVMH brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany and Loro Piana, and they're all opening multi-stor ...