Net sales by the company’s European based operations rose 14.8% to $88.6 million, compared to $77.1 million year on year, in line with Inter Parfum’s global performance.
Jean Madar, Chairman & CEO of Inter Parfums was keen to press Montblanc’s strong performance as the driving factor behind this performance.
“Once again, Montblanc, our largest brand, drove our top line growth with brand sales of $26.3 million, up 32% from last year’s second quarter,” he confirmed in a statement.
“This growth was primarily due to strong sales of the newly launched Legend Spirit line and the ongoing success of the original Legend line.”
Jimmy Choo & Rochas
Two other key brands in Inter Parfum’s portfolio that saw a strong second quarter performance in Europe were Jimmy Choo and Rochas, according to the company.
Jimmy Choo brought in sales of USD 22 million, up 43% from last year, and Rochas contributed USD 8.9 million, as a result of sales of its legacy scents in the brand’s core markets of France and Spain.
Jimmy Choo’s particularly robust performance has been pinned on the wider distribution of its Illicit scent, launched last year, and steady performance of its Man fragrance, launched in 2014.
Economic slowdown but no concern
Although elsewhere Inter Parfum brands in Europe enjoyed a strong second quarter, Lavin, the company’s other key fragrance in the region, saw sales decline by 19%.
CEO Madar pins this on the economic slowdown seen in the brand’s two primary markets - Russia and China - noting that the company hopes to offset this with the launch of a new Lavin line for women later this year and next.
“Thus far this year, our two largest markets were also our two fastest growing markets with sales in Western Europe and North America up 44.6% and 10.5%, respectively,” Madar observed in his statement. “Despite negative market conditions in China, our overall sales in Asia, our third largest market, are slightly ahead of the first half of last year.”