LVMH, typically considered the bellwether for the luxury sector, reported on Monday that first-quarter sales grew 1% on an organic basis to €19.12 billion in 2026.

As for the French conglomerate’s all-important fashion and leather goods business, sales dropped 2% to €9.25 billion. This marks an improvement on the fourth quarter of 2025, when divisional sales declined 3%, but lands below consensus expectations of a 0.9% fall. “LVMH has reported a better first-quarter update than it closed last year in Q4 2025. But this is likely not enough to convince investors to step off the fence,” wrote Bernstein luxury goods analyst Luca Solca.

LVMH CFO Cécile Cabanis shared the view at the brand level: “Louis Vuitton and Dior  are very close to each other, with Louis Vuitton continuing to be more resilient than the [division] average and Dior improving quite a lot versus previous quarters. Then, you have Loro Piana still growing double digits, Rimowa also outperforming the average, and the rest of the brands below the division average.”

She stressed a positive response to creativity, product newness, stores, and experiences, which improved conversion rate across the group’s largest brands. “The first drop [of Dior’s new creative director] Jonathan Anderson came in the stores in Q1,” Cabanis told investors. “It was mostly ready-to-wear and it was not the full collection, so we expect more to come gradually, also on the bags and the shoes. [The collection] will continue to come to the stores in the coming quarter.”

The CFO added that global fashion sales in March would have been broadly flat if not for the effects of the war in the Middle East.

The group reported that the ongoing conflict reduced organic growth for the conglomerate by approximately 1% in Q1. The Middle East accounts for 6% of group sales, and slightly more for the fashion and leather goods division, according to Cabanis. “When the conflict started, and in the month of March, there was a shortfall and a deterioration of demand between 30% and 70%, depending on the malls, depending on the businesses,” she said.

On current trading in the Middle East, Cabanis added: “What we see today is that demand is very much down.”

Investors wanted to know whether other regions had absorbed the lost demand. “ What we have not seen yet is repatriation. And what we know is that wealth has not evaporated, so there will be a time where we’ll see that coming probably elsewhere and mitigate the impact should the conflict continue,” Cabanis said.

Sales in both Europe and Japan were down 3% in the quarter, while the US grew 3% and the rest of Asia grew 7% — the best performance in the region since 2023 “with a good Chinese New Year”, according to Cabanis. Local China spend increased in the quarter, while Chinese tourism continued to improve, albeit remaining negative, she said.

By category, watches and jewelry grew 7%, led by Tiffany’s “excellent performance” and Bvlgari’s “strong growth”, according to the company. Perfumes and cosmetics were flat, selective retailing, which includes multi-brand beauty leader Sephora, was up 4%. The wines and spirits division was up 5% for the quarter, citing a strong start to the year for the champagne business, particularly in Europe, while cognac sales were boosted by Chinese New Year celebrations landing in Q1.

Cabanis concluded: “We are very pleased with the progress, even if we are in a moment where there is a lot of volatility, but we trust that we’ve been having quite a lot of good response on our initiatives, and we will continue to make sure we focus on that.”

Kering and Hermès are also to report their first-quarter earnings this week, on April 14 and 15, respectively. Moncler is to publish its earnings on April 21, Prada on April 30, Burberry on May 14, and Richemont on May 22.