Words by The world’s biggest luxury group is growing again, if slowly, and the shape of that growth says a lot about where money is going in fashion and beauty right now.
LVMH reported revenue of €57.1 billion for the first nine months of 2026, up 2 percent on an organic basis, which strips out currency swings and acquisitions. On a reported basis, revenue was down 2 percent, a gap that mostly reflects the weaker dollar and other currencies against the euro. Third-quarter revenue came to about €18.5 billion, up 1 percent organically.
Those aren’t the double-digit numbers the group posted after the pandemic. They’re steadier than the luxury slump of the past two years, though, and the details show which parts of the empire are carrying the load.
Fashion lags, everything else grows
The surprise is that LVMH’s biggest and most famous division is the one going backward. Fashion & Leather Goods, home to Louis Vuitton, Dior, Celine, Loewe, Fendi and Givenchy, fell 5 percent organically in the third quarter. Wines & Spirits rose 6 percent. Watches & Jewelry, which includes Tiffany and Bvlgari, also gained 6 percent. Selective Retailing, mostly Sephora, was the strongest at 8 percent. Perfumes & Cosmetics edged up 1 percent.
By region, the group described China as weaker, while the United States, Europe and Japan performed well. For a company that leaned heavily on Chinese shoppers over the past decade, that split matters.
A reset at the fashion houses
The soft fashion numbers come in the middle of the biggest designer reshuffle LVMH has attempted in years. Jonathan Anderson is now creative director at Dior after more than a decade at Loewe. Michael Rider has taken over at Celine. At Loewe, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the duo behind Proenza Schouler, have stepped in. Sarah Burton is at Givenchy. At Fendi, Maria Grazia Chiuri has been working with the house’s Baguette, the bag that defined the label in the late 1990s.
Louis Vuitton has leaned on continuity instead. Pharrell Williams runs menswear and Nicolas Ghesquière womenswear, and the house has spent the year marking 130 years of its Monogram canvas.
New designers take time to show up in sales. Collections have to be shown, produced and shipped before they hit stores, so the third quarter mostly reflects merchandise from the old regimes. The real test of the new lineup comes next year.
Trimming the portfolio
LVMH has also been selling. Marc Jacobs went to WHP Global, a brand-licensing firm, in a deal that closed Sept. 1. The group has also sold most of DFS, its travel-retail business, which was hit hard when airport shopping by Chinese travelers collapsed and never fully recovered.
Where the growth is
Sephora keeps doing the heavy lifting. The retailer has kept adding buzzy brands, including Hailey Bieber’s Rhode, and beauty has held up better than handbags as some shoppers trade a new handbag for a lipstick or a fragrance. Jewelry is the other bright spot: Tiffany’s Blue Book high-jewelry collection and Bvlgari’s Eclettica line both got attention this year, and hard luxury has proven more resilient than fashion as wealthy buyers look for pieces that hold their value.
Wines & Spirits, which had a rough 2024 and early 2025 as cognac demand fell in the U.S. and China, has also turned around, at least for now.
What it means for shoppers
For customers, the shift shows up in a few ways. The big fashion houses, after several years of steep price increases, are now leaning on new designers to give shoppers a reason to come back. Beauty and fragrance continue to be the easiest way into a luxury name. And jewelry, long the quiet corner of the business, is getting more attention and more marketing money.
LVMH reports full-year results in late January. By then, the first collections from Anderson, Rider, Burton and the Loewe duo will have been in stores for a few months, and investors will start to see whether the reshuffle is working.
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