雅虎香港電視

STORY: Chinese shoppers are becoming a problem for LVMH.

The European giant owns luxury brands from Louis Vuitton to Tiffany.

And it’s taking a hit as consumers in China - usually big spenders on luxury - seem to have stopped splurging.

Sales at the world’s biggest luxury group did grow over the second quarter - up 1% to almost $23 billion.

But that was down from 3% growth in the previous period, and below analyst forecasts.

Wednesday’s numbers add to signs that the whole luxury sector faces a slowdown.

Recent weeks have seen profit warnings from the likes of Burberry and Hugo Boss.

LVMH shares have been volatile since the warning signs first appeared - down about a fifth over the past year.

Economists say the Chinese retail slide comes as shoppers there grapple with a prolonged property slump and job insecurity.

The company would only say that customer demand there was holding up “quite well”.

Sales in Japan were a bright spot, however, jumping as tourists take advantage of the weak yen to snap up luxury goods.

Though LVMH said the surge there, and the relatively low prices, had eaten into profit margins.

Sales around the rest of Asia, excluding Japan, were down 14%.

LVMH said business in Europe and the U.S. was “slightly better” over the period.