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AFP
Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
May 6, 2019
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ST Dupont’s sales slump in 2018-19

By
AFP
Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
May 6, 2019

French luxury brand ST Dupont has reported a 1.4% downturn in the product revenue for its 2018-19 financial year, notably due to a decline in French department store sales in the second half of the year, which it attributes to the ‘yellow vest’ demonstrations.


French luxury brand ST Dupont was founded in 1872 - ST DUPONT


In the year that ended on March 31, ST Dupont’s revenue was €53.9 million, of which €33.4 million for lighters and writing instruments, and €20.5 million for leather goods and accessories, “down 1.4% compared to the previous financial year, despite the stable situation of its agents and distributors, and the French market’s growth,” as the company stated in a press release.

“The second half of the year [from October to March] closed with a 2% increase over H2 of the previous financial year, thanks to the vitality of the Korean, Chinese and Middle Eastern markets,” said ST Dupont. However, sales via “controlled distribution were down 5.5%,” indicated the company, underlining that “in France, part of this downturn is attributable to the impact of the ‘yellow vest’ demonstrations on department store footfall.”

For the entire year, revenue from controlled distribution was down 2.8% “due to a contraction in the Asia region, half of which was caused by the impact of the closing down of [ST Dupont’s] distribution in Singapore in July.”

Again in the whole year, “France kept up its positive momentum with a 2.2% growth, driven by the e-tail site’s strong sales performance,” while the rest of Europe “contracted by 3%” due to the impact on the Spanish business of the closing down of the Las Rozas Village factory store in April, according to ST Dupont.

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