Don’t bet against LVMH in China slowdown, chairman Arnault says

A shopper enters a Louis Vuitton in Hong Kong

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world’s largest luxury-goods maker, is confident it can adapt to deteriorating market conditions, particularly in China, according to billionaire Chairman Bernard Arnault.
“The group has always been at its best economically during tough times,” Arnault said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg Television at a preview of the new Fondation Louis Vuitton contemporary art museum in Paris. “We are ready.”
LVMH last week reported slowing growth in Asia as Chinese shoppers curbed spending on Vuitton handbags and Hennessy cognac. Fewer tourists are shopping in Hong Kong because of pro-democracy protests, while a government crackdown on lavish spending has weakened consumption in China, leading Bain & Co. to predict global sales of personal luxury goods will rise this year at the slowest pace since 2009.
“We have to adapt” to the slowdown in Asia, Arnault said. “Our goal is to be number one in 20 years from now, as we are today. So we have time.”
LVMH’s “economic success is based on creativity,” Arnault said. “Since the beginning, I thought it was important to give back to the world, to the public, to the customers, to the shareholders, to the employees of the group, part of what they brought to us.” Caroline Connan and Andrew Roberts  , Bloomberg