LVMH’s Accelerating Fashion Sales Help Cushion Alcohol Decline

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world’s largest luxury goods company, reported its fastest fashion and leather-goods revenue growth in two years, cushioning an unexpected decline in quarterly alcohol sales.

First-quarter fashion and leather-goods sales climbed 9 percent on an organic basis, Paris-based LVMH said today in a statement after European markets closed. That was the fastest growth since the first quarter of 2012 and compared with a 3 percent increase in the same period last year. Analysts predicted a 6 percent sales gain.