Compagnie Financière Richemont SA (CFR) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Richemont Full Year '24 Interim Results Presentation. I am Alice, your call operator. The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it is my pleasure to hand over to Sophie Cagnard, Group Corporate Communications and IR Director. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Alice, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Richemont's half year results presentation for the period ended 30th September 2023. Here with us today are Johann Rupert, Chairman; Jerome Lambert, Group Chief Executive Officer; Burkhart Grund, Group Chief Finance Officer; Cyrille Vigneron, Cartier Chief Executive Officer; and James Fraser, Investor Relations Executive. I would like to remind you that the company announcement and results presentation can be downloaded from richemont.com, and that the replay of this audio webcast will be available on our website today at 3:00 p.m. Geneva Time. Before we begin, please take note of our disclaimer regarding forward-looking statements in our ad hoc announcement and on Slide 2 of our presentation. Turning now to the presentation. Burkhart will begin by discussing key highlights in group sales. I will then provide further detail on the performance of our Maisons. Finally, Burkhart will take you through the financials and offer some concluding remarks. This presentation will then be followed by a Q&A session. Burkhart, over to you.

Thank you, Sophie. Good morning to everyone listening, and thank you for joining us today. During the first half of the year, we faced growing headwinds, including an uncertain macroeconomic and political environment, unfavorable foreign currency movements and demanding comparatives. Nonetheless, achieved double-digit sales growth for the 6 months period, ended September 2023, for our continuing operations with an increase of 12% at constant exchange rates and 6% at actual exchange rates. Operating profit of EUR 2.7 billion was 2% lower over the prior year period, leading to an operating margin of 26%, a 210 basis points reduction compared with a year ago. Excluding the significant negative foreign currency impact, both operating profit and the resulting operating margin rose at constant exchange rates as we will see on the next slide. Profit from continuing operations at EUR 2.2 billion was 3% higher than in the prior year period. Cash flow from operating activities remained solid at EUR 1.7 billion. Our net cash position was strong at EUR 5.8 billion, taking into consideration the recent EUR 2.1 billion dividend cash payment that was approved by shareholders at the 2023 AGM in September. Please remember that our net cash position excludes EUR 0.7 billion of YNAP's net overdraft classified as liabilities held for sale. The double-digit half year sales increase at constant exchange rates reflected a very strong first quarter and softer second quarter, up 5% at constant exchange rates, highlighting the resilience of our Maisons in a challenging environment. Q2 sales were impacted by organic growth softening to high single digit in Asia Pacific and decreasing by 1% in Europe. At actual exchange rates, the second quarter sales were down 2%. Half year sales growth was led by the Jewellery Maisons and the retail channel. The strongest regional growth was in Asia Pacific, fueled by the removal of COVID-related restrictions at the start of the year and the related resumption of travel by the Chinese clientele. Unfavorable foreign currency movements have also adversely impacted the gross and operating margins. The reported gross margin was 68.2% compared to the 69.9% margin at constant exchange rates. Operating profit from continuing operations of EUR 2.7 billion was 2% down at actual exchange rates, but 15% up at constant exchange rates. At constant exchange rates, the operating margin rose by circa 90 basis points to 28.5% compared to the prior year period. Jewellery Maisons showed their continued leadership in the industry during the period, increasing sales by double digits and recording a strong operating margin of 35.5%. During the period, Richemont strengthened its corporate governance with the appointment of 2 new board members Fiona Druckenmiller and Bram Schot as well as 2 new SEC members, Boet Brinkgreve and Swen Grundmann. It also released its ESG report in accordance with GRI standards. Let me now discuss the group sales performance in more detail, first by region and then by distribution channel. Unless otherwise stated, all comments refer to year-on-year changes at constant exchange rates. All regions posted growth with varied strength led by Asia Pacific where sales increased by 23%, making this region the largest contributor to the group sales increase. Sales softened to high single digits in the second quarter on the back of less favorable comparatives. The half year regional performance was driven by a 34% sales increase in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau combined, following the removal of COVID-related restrictions at the beginning of the year, increasing travel flows across these 3 markets, combined with favorable comparatives. Locations in the region that also showed strong growth included Taiwan, Thailand and Australia, while other locations had varied and somewhat more muted performances. Overall, Asia Pacific represented our largest region with 42% of group sales, up from 39% in the first half of last year. European sales increased by mid-single digits, driven by the resilience of domestic demand and tourist spending, largely from American, Middle Eastern and more recently, Chinese clients. During the second quarter, sales were broadly flat, reflecting lower spend from the American and Middle Eastern clientele. Sales in Europe represented 22% of group sales in line with H1 of 2023. Notable regional performances came from France, Italy and Switzerland. Sales in the Americas were softer at reported rates and broadly in line with the prior year period at constant exchange rates on demanding comparatives with an improvement during the second quarter. Americans continue to spend abroad, mostly in Europe, though to a lesser extent than in the prior year period, partly due to the weakening of the U.S. dollar euro exchange rate, which was at parity a year ago. Americas made up 21% of group sales, almost on par with Europe. Strong growth continued in Japan and the Middle East and Africa, sustained by the strength of tourism in Japan, particularly from the Chinese clientele and good support from both domestic and tourist spending in the Middle East and Africa. Combined, these 2 regions comprised 15% of group sales broadly in line with the prior year period. Let us now turn to sales by clientele in the directly operated stores of most of our Maisons. This will give you an indication of the magnitude of sales growth. Starting with the Mainland Chinese clientele, you can see demand was strong in the first half of the year, with sales up by circa 50% over the prior year period and about 22% and 48% on a 2- and 4-year comparison basis. In short, sales with the Mainland Chinese clientele are well above the pre-COVID levels. There was softer demand from the American clientele in this first half with sales up around 3%, recording nonetheless, very strong rates on a 2- and 4-year stack of around plus 40% and plus 140%, respectively. European clientele proved resilient with sales rising by about 8% over the prior year period and up almost 50% and 120% on a 2- and 4-year comparison basis. Note that the overwhelming majority of the spend by Europeans was domestic. The share of tourism-related sales has nonetheless continued to increase, reaching now approximately 1/4 of group sales driven by the resumption of Chinese spend outside Mainland China with most purchases being made within Asia. Let us now turn to sales by distribution channel. Retail sales represented 69% of group sales, a 200 basis point increase over the prior year period. Retail enjoyed the largest increase among the distribution channels at plus 16% with double-digit increases at the Jewellery Maisons and the Specialist Watchmakers and growth in all regions. Sales benefited from a net increase of 27 store openings overall, most notably in Asia Pacific and the Americas, including the new Buccellati store in Macau and the Panerai store in Seoul. Online retail sales at 5% of group sales were 2% lower versus the prior year period. Performance varied by region with higher sales in the Americas and the Middle East and Africa, and by business area with moderate growth of the Jewellery Maisons and Fashion & Accessories Maisons. Now moving to wholesale sales, which include sales to mono-brand franchise partners and third-party multi-brand retail partners, sales to agents and royalty income. Sales in the channel represented 26% of group sales compared to 27% a year ago. Wholesale sales increased by 5%, led by double-digit progression at the Jewellery Maisons and lower performance elsewhere. Sales growth was primarily driven by Asia Pacific and Japan. Direct-to-client sales, which represent sales in our directly operated stores and online retail sales, make up 74.1% of group sales, representing a 120 basis point increase over the same period a year ago. This increase reflected the strength of the retail channel overall and the continued retailization of the Specialist Watchmakers, where the direct to client sales rose by 500 basis points to 59%. Nonetheless, the Jewellery Maisons continued to post the highest DTC rate at 82%. Over to you, Sophie.

Thank you, Burkhart. I will now review the business areas with all comparisons at actual rates. Let me start with the Jewellery Maisons, which include Buccellati, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Sales increased by 10%, fueled by growth in both distribution channels and region-wise, driven by Asia Pacific with sales up 21%, followed by Europe with sales up 7%. Higher sales, improved gross margin and good cost control led to a 5% increase in operating results, which reached EUR 2.5 billion with a 35.5% operating margin. We continue to invest in the long-term future of the Maisons, including into manufacturing capacity and capabilities and targeted investments into distribution. Communication expenses increased as well, notably linked to jewelry events. Here again, currencies weighed on results. At constant exchange rates, operating profit was up by 20% and the operating margin higher by 120 basis points. Let us now look at the main developments over the past 6 months. Good growth was seen across the main product lines. Iconic collections performed well along with other creative offers. In Jewellery, these included the Clash, Grain de Café and Trinity Collections at Cartier; Fauna and Perlée at Van Cleef & Arpels; and Blossom and Opera Tulle at Buccellati. In watches, the performance came from Panthère, Tank Normale and the precious offer at Cartier; Alhambra and Perlée at Van Cleef & Arpels. The creative designs and craftsmanship of our high jewelry collections have been rewarded with strong results across the 3 Jewellery Maisons with noteworthy successes from Le Voyage Recommencé, Le Grand Tour and Mosaico collections at Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Buccellati, respectively. The retail network was further upgraded with openings such as the new Buccellati store in Macau, the renovated Cartier store in Basel and relocated Van Cleef & Arpels store in Canton Road in Hong Kong. 60% of Cartier stores are now under the new concept after 5 store renovations were completed, which included [ Nagoya ] and [ Riyadh ]. At the other Jewellery Maisons, renovations or extensions included Van Cleef & Arpels in Hawaii and Buccellati in Paris. To support the strong momentum in jewelry production capacity is being enhanced with new facilities being built, acquired or recently completed between Italy, France and Switzerland, and this is across all 3 Jewellery Maisons. Finally, the Cartier Jewellery Institute opened its stores to reveal the craftmanship involved in jewelry making and create interest among young people. In addition, Buccellati finalized an agreement with Scuola Orafa Ambrosiana to support the training of new apprentices and enable scholarships in goldsmith -- goldsmiths training, sorry. Let us now review our Specialist Watchmakers, where sales were 3% lower than in the prior year period, reflecting lower sales in the Americas, only partially offset by growth in Japan and the Middle East and Africa. Worth noting is the performance of the retail channel, which grew by high single digits and mitigated lower sales in the wholesale and online retail channels. As a result, retail penetration has increased to 57% of sales. Subdued sales, a strong Swiss franc and the internalization of stores impacted the operating result, which amounted to EUR 391 million and generated a 19.7% operating margin. At constant rates, the operating profit and operating margin were down by 1% and 100 basis points, respectively. Iconic collections delivered a good performance, including from the Overseas and Traditionnelle collections at Vacheron Constantin, Reverso and Rendez-Vous at Jaeger-LeCoultre, Pilot's watches at IWC, Polo at Piaget and Lange 1 at A. Lange & Söhne. The level of direct client sales continued to increase [ pricing ] by circa 500 basis points to reach 59% of sales, providing the opportunity for an enhanced client experience and improved understanding of our clients' needs. During the period, focus continued on store internalization and enhancing store productivity. New store openings took place mostly in China and the U.S., including a relocated Panerai flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York and a new Piaget store in Sydney. The last 6 months saw 2 innovative initiatives to preserve and pass on heritage, craftsmanship and creativity. Vacheron Constantin and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced a partnership to develop a series of projects designed to showcase their respective rich heritages and ability to keep cultural legacies alive for future generations. Jaeger-LeCoultre and Michelangelo Foundation completed an inaugural edition of the Homo Faber Fellowship with a masterclass in creativity certified by ESSEC Business School to be followed by residential placement in the workshop of a masterclass. Let us move to the Other business area, comprising the Fashion & Accessories Maisons, Watchfinder & Company and the group's watch component manufacturing and real estate activities. Sales for the business area overall were 1% down over the prior year period and broadly in line with the prior year for Fashion & Accessories Maisons with notable growth at Alaia, Delvaux and Peter Millar and mid-single-digit growth in the retail channel. There were subdued growth to muted declines across the business areas, main regions, which included the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe. Nonetheless, direct-to-client sales continued to progress, increasing slightly to 56%, driven by higher retail sales. Overall, the Other business area reported an operating loss of EUR 6 million, while the Fashion & Accessories Maisons reporting an operating profit of EUR 25 million, driven by continued focus on creativity and cost control. The operating margin at the F&A Maisons amounted to 2.1%. Sales grew across most of our F&A Maisons with a noteworthy performance from the leather goods during the period, notably Ballet Flats and La Minaudière Coeur at Alaïa the Brillant at Delvaux, Extreme 3.0 and Sartorial at Montblanc and the G.112 sneakers at G/Fore. Strong momentum was recorded at Alaia, Delvaux and Peter Millar, supported by the strength of our new and existing collections. Select network extension initiatives included openings focused on Asia Pacific and the Middle East, such as the IFS Shopping Mall, Chloe Store, in Changsha, and the Delvaux Store in Riyadh Kingdom Centre Mall. Finally, Watchfinder launched a third party marketplace in the United Kingdom in April, expanding the product offer through carefully selected professional sellers. This concludes the review of the first half performance of each business area. Burkhart, over to you.

Thank you, Sophie. Let me walk you through the rest of the P&L, starting with gross profit. Gross profit increased by 5% to EUR 7 billion and represented 68.2% of sales compared with 68.9% a year ago. At constant exchange rates and compared to the reported H1 '24 number, gross margin was 170 basis points higher at 69.9%. Gross margin was impacted by increased production costs driven by inflation on raw materials and salary increases compounded by the impact of adverse foreign exchange movements on sales. These negatives were partly offset by higher production volume and price increases as well as favorable channel Maisons and geographical mix effects. Let us now look at net operating expenses, which rose by 9% compared to the prior year period at actual exchange rates and by 13% at constant exchange rates. These increases are well above the 6% increase in sales at actual rates, but broadly in line with the 12% sales growth at constant exchange rates. Selling and distribution expenses increased by 9% at actual exchange rates by 14% at constant exchange rates, primarily reflecting strong retail sales, larger retail operations in addition to inflation-driven operating cost increases. S&D expenses represented 23.4% of H1 '24 sales, a 60 basis point increase compared to 22.8% a year ago. Communication expenses were up by 9% over the prior year period at actual exchange rates and by 13% at constant exchange rates as the Maisons continued to invest in communication to support sales growth, primarily at the Jewellery Maisons and notably for high jewelry events. As a percentage of sales, communication spend was 8.6%, slightly higher than in the prior year period. Fulfillment expenses, that is the cost of filling -- of fulfilling online orders from our Maisons and Watchfinder, were in line with the prior year period at actual exchange rates. Fulfillment expenses represented 1% of group sales. Administrative expenses, which are primarily incurred in Swiss francs, were 16% higher than in the prior year period at actual and constant exchange rates and amounted to 8.9% of sales. Growth was largely driven by higher IT expenses and salary increases. Overall, net operating expenses amounted to 42.2% of group sales. This resulted in an operating profit of EUR 2.7 billion, 2% down compared to the prior year period, leading to a 26% operating margin compared to 28.1% a year ago. Profitability was significantly impacted by negative foreign exchange movements during the period as we just saw, impacting by 300 basis points, both gross margin and operating expenses combined and as recapped in the current slide. In short, at constant exchange rates, operating profit grew by 15%, and the operating margin improved by 90 basis points to 28.5% compared to a 27.6% operating margin at constant exchange rates in the prior year period. Net finance costs eased to EUR 52 million for the first half of the year. The EUR 150 million improvement was mainly driven by 3 main items. First, fair value adjustments decreased by EUR 136 million, reflecting reduced fair value losses on the group's investments in externally managed bond funds and money market funds. Secondly, there was a EUR 63 million positive reversal in the net financial income line. These positive elements partially mitigated the net foreign exchange impact of EUR 38 million on monetary items and hedging activities compared to the prior year period. Sales under discontinued operations, which consists of YNAP's, were down by 13% during the period impacted by the challenging environment for multi-brand retailers. Factoring in the EUR 527 million further revaluation of YNAP's net assets to fair value, the operating result from discontinued operations translated into a EUR 603 million loss. As announced on the 23rd of October, we have received all necessary approvals from the various regulatory authorities to enable the progression towards completion of Stage 1 of the deal. We will touch on that later. Profit for the period from continuing operations increased by 3% to EUR 2.2 billion leading to a 21.1% profit margin from continuing operations. Our effective tax rate for the first half of the financial year of continuing operations was 18%. This is an organic rate for Richemont, and it is in line with our expectations for the full year, absent any special unforeseen items occurring in the second half of the year and within our projected 18% to 21% range. Cash flow generated from operating activities was EUR 126 million higher than the prior year period at EUR 1.7 billion, reflecting slightly reduced operating profit from operating activities more than offset by lower investments in working capital. Let us now turn to our gross capital expenditure. Investments totaled EUR 378 million, broadly in line with the prior year period. At 3.3% of sales, capital expenditure was slightly less than the 3.5% in the prior year period. 47% of gross capital expenditure related to point-of-sale investments, mostly renovations and relocations of directly operated stores. New store openings include Van Cleef & Arpels in Barcelona and IWC in Berlin. Relocations and renovations included again, Van Cleef & Arpels in U.S., Costa Mesa, Cartier in Bangkok and Vacheron Constantin on Rodeo Drive. Manufacturing spend was broadly stable at 20% of overall CapEx and mostly related to the Jewellery Maisons. Other investments made up 33% of CapEx and predominantly comprised IT investments. Let us now turn to free cash flow. Free cash inflow of EUR 866 million was EUR 58 million higher than in the prior year period. The improvement reflected higher cash flow from operating activities, partly offset by higher net acquisitions of other noncurrent assets and higher lease payments. Our balance sheet remains solid. Shareholders' equity accounts for 46% of the total. Net cash amounted to EUR 5.785 billion on 30th of September 2023. The EUR 764 million decrease compared to the 31st of March 2023, which is more than explained by the EUR 2.72 billion dividend cash outflow. The dividend payment reflects an ordinary dividend of CHF 2.5 per A share plus a special dividend of CHF 1 per A share, which were both approved by shareholders at the AGM in September. Let me now share an update on our ESG progress. Taking a compliance-driven approach, our 2023 ESG report, which we launched on the 2nd of June, is our first to have been fully prepared in accordance with the global reporting initiatives, or GRI standards. We have also increased the group's GRI disclosures significantly compared to last year. The notable 40 quantitative indicators independently assured by PwC as well as incorporating metrics underlying the Sustainalytics and CDP assessment methodologies. We have also published our EU Taxonomy report for our Luxembourg-based Richemont International Holding on our website in compliance with the EU Taxonomy regulations reporting [ requirements ]. This report provides clear and comparable information on our environmentally sustainable activities and investments in the European Union. As mentioned in May, we have now extended our Speak Up platform to external stakeholders to allow them to voice their concerns and contribute to Richemont's ongoing commitment to transparency and ethical conduct. As mentioned before, we have also strengthened our corporate governance with the appointment of 2 new Board members with deep sustainability expertise. [ Embed ] ESG in our business strategy. We have recently established the internal Richemont Sustainability Academy to upskill our colleagues and best support our continuous improvement approach. All these initiatives have been recognized by the ESG rating agency Sustainalytics with Richemont receiving an 11.3% risk rating score for its low risk exposure with a strong management labeling. This rating positions the group among the top 4% of more than 15,000 companies rated worldwide. Continue to work hard at nurturing the next generation of talent to ensure Richemont's long-term growth. Richemont owns and partners with a number of leading schools in the fields of luxury design, jewelry making, fine watchmaking as well as luxury management courses to best prepare the leaders of tomorrow. You can see on the left-hand side of the table, the schools we run and on the right-hand side, where we have built collaborations with academic partners. We also invest in an extensive apprenticeship program as part of our deep commitment to preserving special craftsmanship techniques requiring expert level skills and experience that are difficult and take time to acquire. Let us now move to the agreement with Farfetch and Alabbar to sell them 47.5% and 3.2%, respectively, of YNAP share capital, for which all regulatory clearances have been updated. We are now working towards reaching completion of Stage 1. Work is focused on reviewing the terms for certain Richemont Maisons entering into FARFETCH Platform Solutions, or FPS, and marketplace agreements to accelerate the luxury new retail ambitions. At completion of Stage 1, Richemont will receive around 58.5 million of our Farfetch Class A ordinary shares in exchange for 47.5% of YNAP. On the fifth anniversary of completion, Richemont will also receive the equivalent of USD 250 million in Farfetch Class A ordinary shares based on the then current Farfetch share price. Alabbar, via Symphony Global, will acquire a 3% -- 3.2% stake in YNAP such that Richemont's holding in YNAP will be reduced to 49.3%. Our financial commitment towards YNAP is to deliver YNAP free of financial debt and with cash of USD 445 million. YNAP will use part of the cash to buy out its minorities immediately after completion, leaving it with circa USD 290 million of cash. Richemont will also make available to YNAP a committed credit facility for an additional USD 450 million for up to 10 years from the closing of Stage 1 that YNAP may draw upon if needed, subject to certain conditions. We have no other financial commitments towards YNAP and no financial commitments towards Farfetch. When Stage 1 is completed, we will proceed with the adoption of the Farfetch Platform Solutions to power the e-commerce operations of [indiscernible] Maisons and of the 4 YNAP brands to shift to a hybrid 1P/3P model. This will be gradually rolled out in the coming years as there are many integration protocols that need to be put in place, including for connecting the Maisons e-commerce operations in physical stores. Most of our Maisons will also open e-concessions on the Farfetch marketplace, enabling another access point for our clients. More details will likely provided at our fiscal year '24 results presentation in May. On closing of Stage 1 to year 5, Farfetch can potentially acquire our 49.3% stake in YNAP via call option. In addition, Richemont could exercise its put options, hence sell its entire stake to Farfetch from year 3 to year 5 subject to YNAP achieving positive adjusted EBITDA in the 12-month period prior to exercise as well in 3 or 4 quarters over that same 12 months period. In May 2020, we announced the creation of a shareholder loyalty scheme to mitigate the reduction of the dividend paid for the year ended March 2020 following the COVID outbreak. This enabled us to preserve time, cash at a time of great uncertainty while providing loyal shareholders the optionality to recoup all and hopefully more than the then reduction in the dividend. As long as the share price on exercise day is above CHF 67, then it is worth exercising your warrants. Remember, 67 warrants are required to purchase 1 share at a price of CHF 67. The exercise period for the warrants, which were issued on the 27th of November 2020, is to very shortly starting from the 20th of November at 9:00 a.m. Central European Time until the 22nd of November at noon Central European time. Be aware, however, that South African holders will hold the A warrants through central depository participants, will need to ensure the CDPs -- CSDPs, sorry, submit exercise declarations between 9 a.m. South African Standard Time on the 17th of November and 12 noon South African Standard Time on the 21st of November latest. Warrants that are exercised and at today's price, they are of value and should be exercised, will be converted into A shares, leading to an increase in the overall share capital, details of which will be further announced and posted on the website on the 27th of November. Remember, conversion of warrants into A shares is not automatic. If you do nothing, warrants will expire value less and you will lose money. Before turning over to the Q&A, I would like to summarize and offer some concluding remarks. For the first half of this year, Richemont delivered good underlying operational and financial performance, notwithstanding the demanding comparatives of the prior year period, while also facing increasing headwinds in terms of geopolitical and economic uncertainties as well as foreign exchange. Unfavorable foreign currency movements had a significant impact on sales, cost of goods sold and operating expenses, given our very strong base in Switzerland. Constant exchange rates, sales grew by double digits, following double-digit growth rates across all business areas in almost all regions in the prior year period. At constant exchange rates, operating profit increased by circa 15% and operating margin rose to 28.5%. Jewellery Maisons remains the strongest business area, reporting double-digit sales growth and a strong operating margin. Having received unconditional clearance from all relevant antitrust authorities for the Farfetch and Alabbar partnership with YNAP, we are now able to work on the completion of Stage 1. In conclusion, our robust net cash position enables us to continue investing into our Maisons and seize opportunities, notably in manufacturing and distribution to support long-term growth. Our resilience and solid balance sheet also give us confidence in weathering the current economic and geopolitical uncertainties and being able to maintain our ambition of delivering sustainable long-term value to employers -- to employees and shareholders. This concludes our presentation. Thank you for your attention. I will now hand back over to Sophie.

Thank you, Burkhart. We can now start the Q&A. [Operator Instructions].

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Chiara Battistini with JPMorgan.

It's Chiara Battistini from JPMorgan. So the first question on the comment on the outlook notably the soft landing comment. Maybe can I ask to expand on this comment, maybe also touching on what has been seen since the end of H1 and a broader comment on shape and views into 2024, please? And the second question is on the European performance. Europe as a whole was down, although the Europeans were called out in the presentation up high single digits. So I was wondering whether you could maybe provide a bit more color in terms of the drivers of Europe between the Europeans that we have seen, but also the tourist share and wholesale. And calling out Europeans broadly in line with the previous quarter, are you not slowing down sequentially? It's a bit of an anomaly in this reporting season and an outperformance versus what we've seen from peers. So maybe could I ask on drivers that you've seen are driving this outperformance with the European cluster, please?

Thank you, Chiara.

Yes. Chiara, let me start to tackle the first question you raised, because obviously when you ask for our outlook into 2024 -- calendar 2024, I think that's a very difficult undertaking or a very difficult question to answer because simply we don't know. What we have experienced very clearly over the course of this fiscal year or let's say, over the course of the last 12 to 18 months is a very strong impact not just on our business, but on many businesses of reintroducing cost of capital, reintroducing and very aggressively reintroducing actually positive interest rates. Clearly, this is leading us now into a period of normalization also in our business or also in our so-called industry. We have been skeptical for quite a while about the outlook for China. There are and have been for quite a while elements that in general way down on the Chinese economy and especially on the feelgood factor on which we, as an industry, depend on the U.S. has seen a normalization already in the last 12 months. I think we are sharing okay in that area with currently growing somewhere between 3% and 5% as we've seen in the -- in our second quarter. The Chinese customer, and let's detach us for a second from the Chinese economy, has been showing strong growth in our first quarter or even the last quarter of our last fiscal year and has started to normalize as well because once again feelgood factor weighs on the Chinese customer as well. But we are quite happy with that performance because it's in line with what our expectations or where our expectations were. We have spelled out 6 months ago that we think that there will be growth coming out of the so-called Chinese cluster, which is happening. Growth has been strong in -- over the period that we're discussing here. And we also said it might take a few years to come back to probably the level of overall business, especially outside of China with our Mainland Chinese clientele. So I'd say, soft landing is our hope, but we will only know that when we look back at it probably in a year's time. Fiscal '24 outlook. You know we don't guide, and I don't think that, especially in a period like today, we can. Jerome, do you want to -- Europe?

Yes, from -- for Europe, maybe 2 elements that you highlighted in your presentation, Burkhart. The first one is that it is that if you consider the semester, Europe has been growing at 5%, while the European clientele has been growing at 3% over the same period. So we have 2 [ motor ] with moderate growth, but the 2 [ motor ] are functioning with inflection in the second quarter, where European clientele maintained the same trend than in Q1, and where our tourism was slightly less present, mainly again linked to the ForEx effect and the fact that the euro value is making, [ I would say ], the purchase slightly less interesting for certain country origin. Out of that, it's -- we have had a number of renovation, important renovation for many of our Maisons and in Milano or in Paris for Jewellery and for watch business. Cyrille, do you want to give some color?

Yes. To compare to last year. Last year, there was especially a very strong presence of American customers in Europe because the dollar was very strong in the American economy as well. And this year, because of the lowering of the value of the dollar compared to euro and also the economy, we saw that as a slowing down, which was expected. The Chinese customers have not come yet to a level that were before pre-COVID and so that's where there is [ fourth summer ] kind of discrepancy. But for European customers, they have shown very strong resilience and continue to grow.

Good. Thank you. Can Alice move on to the next question, please?

The next question comes from the line of Louise Singlehurst with Goldman Sachs.

Two questions for me, too, please. Just as -- it's a surprise in the period, I suppose, when we first look at the results and the underlying growth, particularly by region, the U.S. absolutely stood out as a surprise for us externally. I'd be interested to know if it was a surprise to you internally turning positive in the quarter? And are we now at this normalization that you referenced with the U.S.? Can we think of it as a lower but normalized growth level? And then my second question, just in terms of the Chinese cluster. Can you talk to us about the demand that you're seeing by the Chinese, just the appetite. There's obviously appetite for the customer when they're traveling, but has there been any change in appetite for spend when people are traveling? Is there still as much as excitement when you're saying the Chinese customer shopping in Hong Kong or Japan than you would expect? Is there anything to really call out that you've seen in the last 3 months?

Yes, Louise, let me -- Burkhart here. Let me start to dig into the U.S. Are we surprised? Well, we shouldn't be surprised. Now let's just look at this, first quarter was slightly down. This quarter, it's slightly up. The difference is from the negative to the positive, but not in absolute numbers, not so huge. It is built on what we are striving for, for the mid- to long term, which is having Maisons with strong brand equity. And this has made a difference in this quarter. And the, let's say, the net slightly positive results are a result of a few Maisons doing an outstanding job in the period. So I'd say it's marginally better, and it's moved into the positive territory, and it has not been a massive surprise for us, put it that way.

It's Cyrille speaking. For the second question about the Chinese cluster. So after the reopening of China domestically and then also reopening the borders, so a very, very big impact in Hong Kong, Macau and Hainan from January where people resumed traveling in the area, which was the closest and the easiest, meaning not requiring visa or even being able to travel by car or by high-speed train. So we saw triple-digit growth in there. And of course, an appetite for traveling, moving and coming to the closer region, then expanded a little bit more in Asia to Korea and Japan and also seeing in Thailand, not yet so much coming to Middle East or to Europe, for the same question of our airline capacity, visa and other things, which are practical questions. So the appetite to travel is clear and the appetite to also buy during the travel is clear as well in the region where these volumes have increased.

And maybe in terms of [indiscernible] when it comes to quiet -- so-called quiet luxury is also more expected in these days recently.

And can I ask if there's anything to call out by cohort in terms of spending behavior, entry through the high end. That's my last question.

In this part, we don't see this divide will be more kind of an interest for, I would say, strong Maisons demand compared to other. We see a very good trend in high-jewelry, fine jewelry and also expensive watches as well, but also the iconic products doing pretty well. So we don't see a divide by price point. It's more kind of the strong category with the strong brands.

Thank you, Louise. Let's move to the next question, please.

The next question comes from the line of Thomas Chauvet with Citi Research.

Thomas Chauvet of Citi. Two questions, please. The first one on watches and [ weather ] Cartier watches and Specialist Watchmakers. Could you share your view on how you think the demand cycle is going to evolve in the next couple of years? We've seen 3 years of very strong growth across the industry, partly driven by savings and the other factors, but some kind of exuberant shopping behavior, I would say, how are your Watch Maison preparing for potential further demand pressure to avoid some of the issues of the past inventory buildup, [indiscernible] end markets, brand dilution and significant margin pressures? And the second question, long term on China, perhaps for Mr. Rupert. Just over 10 years ago, at the results presentation in Bellevue, it was FY 2012, you famously said about China, you felt it was a bit like having a black tie dinner on top of a volcano. Since then, you've managed growth relatively well in China and with the Chinese clientele despite some headwinds, the gifting crackdown or COVID. How would you describe the potential of China and the Chinese shopper at this point in time, in this cycle? What has changed? What will change, and how you're adapting on the ground and, of course, abroad with the [ capture ] to the tourist? Thank you.

Thank you for your question for -- Jerome speaking for the watches. First, we see on the last 10 years, a growing demand for fine watchmaking on a constant basis. And when it comes to Richemont, again in the numbers, that Burkhart shared with you, saw as well the CAGR in terms of clientele, and you saw that Richemont being -- capturing higher and bigger market share in America and in Europe over the period. It helps for our Watch business because we have been capable to expand and to be less geographically limited than in the past, that's point 1. The second point is that we have seen as well during the last 5 years that the interest of new generation for watches, and that's constant for male and for female. 10 years ago, we may have had the iWatch [indiscernible], but we have all seen that, in fact, now that you wear a traditional watch, let's call them like that, and an iWatch simultaneously. So from these 2 effects, generation plus geographies, we foresee a constant positive evolution. What -- and then we mentioned it as well this morning, what is still, I would say, always reinforcing or putting more emphasis on the cycle is that we are in an industry where wholesale and retail are impacting the numbers in their dynamic. And then, as you know, we have been putting a lot of emphasis of having our sell-out over our sell-in. And therefore, we always anticipate what we can see or what we can call softening of trends during a certain period of time. But if you look it on a slightly longer period, you see a constant positive evolution of that market with stronger growth potential for the future.

[indiscernible] that have you forgotten about that black tie. You know when I was saying earlier on that one of the things I missed when I got older was the certainty that I had when I was in my 30s. So I would say I spent 95% of my time worrying about events that may occur 5% of the time, exogenous factors. Now we certainly did not foresee the war in Ukraine or the atrocities of the Middle East. So barring exogenous factors, the things that are certain is that for more than a decade, we had to quote Alan Greenspan's irrational exuberance, but this time by the very people who opted those words where the central banks increased the money supply and that this was combined by fiscal irresponsibility. So they had to curb inflation. And whereas for more than a decade, free enterprise can't work without a hurdle rate, and -- so people acted in an exuberant fashion. So in general, we will see a softening in demand across all categories across all asset classes, whether it's housing or the automobile sector because that's the goal of the reserve banks. Otherwise, how do you get inflation down. So -- and I've suspect that interest rates will remain higher for longer than most people think. We prepared for that by our balance sheet, EUR 7 billion in cash and continuously supporting our Maisons in terms of communication, building brand equity. How are we to grow? I know that we're increasing market share in jewelry. Still despite new entrants, we certainly increasing market share. In terms of our watches, you will recall when the democracy protest started in Hong Kong, the whole watch industry found out that we had a massive oversupply. The -- and I have to state it, this was to a very large extent, driven by the incentive structures that we all had which favored sell-in. So we took out about, was it EUR 300 million, EUR 500 million worth of watches. But interestingly, the cost, which was about EUR 300 million, we recouped over the next years because of lack of discounts, because when we got supply and demand in line, it set off a chain of events. But importantly, the supply chain today is totally different to 6, 7 years ago. We have visibility. And a lot more visibility. So our wholesale business, which is not -- although they are clients, they also our partners, so we can monitor the sell-out, and we do it continuously. We can monitor the sellout so that we do not create or we do not even allow our partners, wholesale partners to create excess stock. This is reflected in the severe discounts that permeated the whole industry, even the leader, up to 4, 5 years ago. So I suspect that the exuberance of the last few years, well, it's already come to all. You will recall, we were the first to warn that America was slowing down since last October, November. We did it before the rest of the market. And whilst our competitors and analysts were still exuberant and optimistic about the resurgence of China, we cautioned that it would take longer. It did have an effect on the market, which showed that not everybody believed it. But it's not that the Chinese -- that our psychographic group of consumers, it's not that they don't have money. So when we read about real estate, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, that's not really affecting our psychographic group as much as people would fear. We've got to remember that one child policy is really in effect with our, let's say, 20 to 35, 40 years old. Now each of these individuals has two parents and four grandparents. You get married, that's multiplied by 2, but they do have savings. But I think there was an effect psychologically with a lockdown. And -- so when we said in May that we expect this group of consumers to act more soberly than some of their Western counterparts, they were not going to go out and max their credit cards. So the demand is there, the affinity for our products, it's there. And we see at the moment they start traveling in the adjacent areas. So I'm not pessimistic about China. I never said pessimism. I said caution, because they are acting rationally. When people act rationally, they don't [ go and explode ]. And I think the few good factor will come back, I know it's not politically correct to say so. But when you have a society of intelligent people who study STEM, instead of criticizing classical literature for being politically incorrect, like their counterparts in the United States, that they work on, they smart, and they study future technologies, I fully expect them to continue to do better. I'm not -- given what we know at the moment, obviously, no exogenous shock. I'm very confident that Chinese consumers will continue to display their affinity for our products. We are seeing it in triple digit growth when they travel to Hong Kong, Macau, Hainan, et cetera. I think that's about what I can say, Thomas.

The next question comes from the line of Zuzanna Pusz with UBS.

I'll stick to two. So first of all, on the Jewellery Maisons margins. Really well done to the team. I just wanted to check because I remember historically, you said that the margins sort of will be around 3% in a bad year, around 35 in the good years. But clearly, as of H1, the margin increase sort of I would say, slightly up [ 38% ] underlying. So I was just wondering sort of, excluding FX, of course, how we should think if anything has changed given that the size of the division is maybe this time when things are slowing, you could have a little bit of a, let's say, a higher level of the sort of a floor margin. That's my first question. And the second question is on YNAP. Thank you for the update, but I was just wondering if you could maybe share with us a little bit more about the plan B. I mean I know that the deal got all of the necessary approvals, but you're probably aware that there are some concerns in the market around just the overall health and future of the Farfetch business. So I guess it would be helpful to maybe reassure the market, investors, that for whatever reason, the deal doesn't conclude, I mean, is there a risk that YNAP would come back to your business? Any thoughts you could share on that front would be very helpful.

Yes, Zuzanna. Let me start with the jewelery margins. I always was very clear, right? It's not a guidance. It's an indication of a range in which we are comfortable, 30% to 35% at current market context, et cetera, et cetera. Remember, these are businesses that are highly cash flow generative, but require also consistent investment over time, and that view has not changed. Yes, we are in a high-margin business. And I would say the view has remained exactly the same. We don't adjust that every 6 months. Remember, last year, we were at 37 in the first half. And in the second half, we tend to have higher outlays in spend and also into the network. And we have the peak selling season where we traditionally support more on the communication side. So that overall, we were at the high end of the range for the full year fiscal '23. We are still on the same -- in the same position, we're still under the same logic. These are very high-margin business. We intend to max it out in the sense that we continue to invest.

Sorry, I wasn't aware of all of this guidance.

It's not guidance.

No. It's not a high-margin business. You start saying that, it's a fair model.

True.

And I'm loath to predict that because the higher -- the value of high jewelry, the margins are lower. So we have a far, far lower margin on high jewelry. So it's the product mix to a very large extent that determines it. As on Farfetch, YNAP, I think we will just put a little bit of context here. Since our real involvement started about 14 years ago, we've spent well in excess, close to EUR 30 billion, on communication and marketing and leases. So if you take a total exposure to online, you are talking about a fraction of that. And what are we trying to achieve, when we spend close on to EUR 2 billion a year, which is more on communication, which is more than total YNAP exposure, both YNAP, Farfetch online exposure. We are trying to -- for our consumers, our clients, to get to know us and our products. But in return, we don't really learn that much about who these clients are. So to give you an idea, just in the Watch division, in the last 3, 4 years, we used to get to know about 130,000 of our watch clients a year. Now it's over 600,000. And if we -- and that's growing. So if we are to know our clients, luxury new retail is not just online. It's retail, which is important, real estate, but enhanced by a detailed knowledge of who the clients are. So as artificial intelligence becomes more pervasive, you need data. You need to know, your clients ask, you can service them better. What we have found, and I'm talking now technically from our technical team, is that everything we expected in terms of technology from our Farfetch friends, they've delivered, and we are satisfied. We believe that it's going to enhance our business model. I cannot talk about the affairs of a public company. It's just not proper. Have they been a private company, I could have given you far greater guidance, but they are a public company. What I am saying is that what we're interested in is the technical expertise and the possibility for getting integration between the systems and they're my technical colleagues are telling me that they are happy.

But may I just follow up about the -- I mean I understand that you're happy with sort of the collaboration...

Plan B, or plan C or Plan B or Plan E, I cannot tell you about anything about a public company. I'm sorry, but I've never -- I've been involved. I've been in investment banking, ran a bank, I've never ever, ever broken any security legislation in my world -- in my life, and I do not intend doing it now.

The next question comes from the line of Luca Solca with Bernstein.

Luca Solca from Bernstein. Maybe linking back to the situation with one of -- just assurance to get a sense that you have safeguards in your contract to Farfetch, that if things go wrong, you can get to a business that would be handled by Farfetch under the Farfetch Platform Solutions agreement, you could get it back or not and how it would work in that case. Then as a separate question, what are your views at the moment? I make the most of the fact that Mr. Rupert is on the call. We had discussed in the past that soft luxury is still below scale. What are your views at the moment? The market is clearly going through moderation that's going to be pressure on smaller companies. Would this be an opportunity to increase market share, not just organically but also for M&A? And what are your views on that front?

Thank you, Luca. Yes, we have safeguards. But as I said to you, we do have safeguards, but as I said to you, their technology that we have now learned is exciting. And I'm not going to expand further. Now as I listened to you and had we've done all the mergers that you'd expected me to do, would you have been very happy if you'd been a Richemont shareholder now, would you like to answer me now that then I'll carry on?

Well, it will depend. Which one?

Yes or no, it's [indiscernible] Luca. You don't have to answer it. Okay, you don't have to answer it. No, you don't have to answer it.

Probably not. Probably not. Probably not. I think [indiscernible] speaking to organic, right, it's a good idea.

[indiscernible] Okay. Luca, if you analyze it, we have outperformed our main competitor in the last 6 months in fashion and leather, in watches and jewelry, et cetera, et cetera. And this has been going on for, I think, about 5 or 6 quarters now. So we have a philosophy, Luca, to rather build goodwill then to pay other people, exiting shareholders for the goodwill. Yes, it may take time, but we are seeing very, very good growth at Alaias, especially since Peter Millar joined. Buccellati is truly performing. We expect the same to happen with Delvaux. The -- remember, when we bought Van Cleef, I think we paid EUR 320 million or something.

U.S.

U.S., U.S. Well, it's about the same, but. The turnover was [ EUR 60 million ], and they lost [ EUR 60 million ]. And not only from you, but at every Board meet -- well, I would say once a year, I had two directors asking me in very proper English. So when will Van Cleef ever be profitable, and I got so bored with the question that I said when we wanted it to be. It today is an absolute star performer. Peter Millar, a star performer. And it's starting to be big enough to move the needle. The problem with M&A is that the companies that you truly admire and that have the right culture, which is critically important, if you buy a company with bad culture, you have to spend more management time fixing the culture than I think -- it always turns out to be more problematic than you think. So when you're catching falling lives, you start diverting your attention from the truly profitable future companies in fixing problems. So please do not expect us to make hugely accretive acquisitions. Rather expect us to use a few of the years, maybe 2, 3 years, I don't know how long this is going to last, by carrying on building the brand equity and expanding on our existing Maisons. We are outperforming. And I suspect that we will have to gain market share to grow in an overall market that I suspect will be flat. Yes, there will be geographical differences. So you may actually pick up. Luckily, our products, our infrastructure, and our brand equity, is widely dispersed over the geographical, and there I'd say psychographical markets of the world. But thank you. I'll wait that the long time to ask you that question, Luca.

Thank you, Johann. Your answers are very reassuring, both of them.

The next question comes from the line of Antoine Belge, BNP Paribas Exane.

It's Antoine at BNP Exane. Two questions. First of all, coming back to the performance of jewelry, which has been super strong, would it be possible -- I know you disclosed it only for the 6 months, but especially within Jewellery Maisons, what was the outperformance of jewelry versus watches? And I understood, you know that there is a big debate about potentially jewelry being less resilient than, I don't know, let's say, leather goods. That's not my thesis, but if you could maybe share some thought about, I mean, how things could be different this time maybe compared to the past with this very attractive category. And my second question is relates to, I know it's a bit boring, FX, but it's a topic of the first half, huge impacts. I understand the Swiss franc part, especially maybe versus [ Jewellery Maisons ]. But for the rest, could you come back a bit about the hedging policy and why the impact was visible in the first half? And also, would it be fair to say that maybe there have been not that much protection from hedging, it means that in the second half, there are less pressure? And also how you approach OpEx increases because it was at constant currency, I think an increase more or less in line with top line. I mean maybe in a normalization phase even in your soft lending scenario, could OpEx be growing in line or a bit less than top line?

Yes. Let me start. I mean, first of all, we don't -- watches versus jewelry, et cetera, within a given segment. And I don't think we're going to start doing that now. I think as to your question or thesis, hard luxury, soft luxury, or jewelry less resilient than leather. I think look at the numbers and look at the evidence that you see. Our Chairman quoted that we outperformed our peers in the first 9 months. We looked at it 9 months. That's how you compare to how our competitor's report. Our Jewellery division has outperformed the fashion and leather [indiscernible] our peers or our competitors, and it's not a new phenomenon. It has been like this over the last 2 to 3 years. So I think today, I can only refer you to that. Look at how it looks with reported numbers over the last 3 years. On the second question, same thing there. We don't guide on FX, on exchange rates because we simply do not know. You're asking H1, H2 hedging. This has nothing to do with hedging. This is something to do of where we are located and where we generate our sales. Our sales, as most of our industry and our peers have a high U.S. dollar part which obviously and our competitors have pointed that out as well, is suffering from the strength of the euro. On our cost base, we are Swiss-based primarily when we look at our manufacturing side of things. And we also have a headquarters and headquarters of many of our Maisons are based in Switzerland have a high exposure to the Swiss franc, which as you know, has strengthened against the euro. H1, H2, I simply do not know because I simply do not know how the exchange rates will evolve. The hedging is a 12-month rolling hedge, so it doesn't really necessarily have any short-term impacts here because we simply apply it as a program and not as a speculative instrument. We don't take a position. We have a hedging program that is that is locking in with the 12-month rolling basis. So I can't give you any smarter answer than that's.

Okay. Maybe just following up. So it means that internally, again, even again a soft landing scenario, I mean is your attitude to cost unchanged entirely compared to, I mean there's been quite a difference between Q1 and Q2. So still about this idea that jewelry is an attractive category, and it's good to invest.

Different between the categories is branded jewelry is still a very small percentage from the total jewelry market. And as such, you have more growth in gaining market share between branded and unbranded jewelry. That's the key driver, overall driver. And then secondly, in the branded jewelry market, we've gained market share.

The next question comes from the line of Edouard Aubin, Morgan Stanley.

Yes. Two questions for me. I think they're for [ Cyrille ], I'll let you decide. So the first question is really big picture, but looking at counterfeits in the jewelry category. So I guess, counterfeits have existed for as long as the luxury goods industry has existed, but it seems that the importance seem to have clearly increased in recent years and given that Richemont owns so many iconic jewelry lines, you seem particularly vulnerable and potentially impacted by that. So are your checks also indicating that this is picking up in terms of counterfeits and kind of what are you doing to address this problem? And then the second question is just to follow up on Louise's question on the kind of the profile of the consumers and what you see, and what you just said. But I think you said you're not seeing really any change in terms of price points rather by brands. But if you look at the kind of income brackets, are you this year still able really to recruit kind of from the middle class as much as you've been over the years? Or really, are you seeing more high net worth kind of driving the growth? So I'd be interested to have some follow-up on, more color on that.

I'll just start with counterfeiting, it's Johann here, because I've been a lot around Cartier since 1976. It depends what you call counterfeiting. We had a German producer of Trinity rings. That was really remarkable. And it took us a while to stop him. We had a Mexican gentleman who opened a Cartier store in Mexico that he owned. And I never forget in 1978 when Alain Perrin launched the Santos. He came to New York, I was working with Lazard, at the time to complain bitterly about the quality of the bracelet that he had to service in his store. And I see it but hang on man, you do not even own Cartier, but you've built a boutique that looks like ours. You make your own products, you brand them Cartier. So we've been around for a while experiencing -- by the way, later on became internalized and became one of our very best partners. So we had JV, it was -- it's been around for as long as we live. I don't think we have seen an upsurge in counterfeiting. So, and trust me, we monitor every single market. We literally scan billions of pages with our Alibaba partners. It's part of our online experience where we actually look at the imprints continuously, and we haven't really seen. We have seen a few of our big competitors copying our designs shamelessly there, I'd say, where we have to take them to court. But we haven't really seen a problem with counterfeiting as such. People copying our iconic designs, yes, we have seen problems. But luckily, the clients -- it's very difficult in jewelry. When you're a new entrant, you're a fashion company, and you start playing in the jewelry business because the clients know that the one company has been around for over 1.5 century. And so when they see designs, they recognize them. But the product categories, yes, get attacked with other designs. But as I've said and I can say it in defense of Cyrille and Nicolas, they've managed to increase not only volume but market share. So Cyrille, please.

Yes. And so when it comes to at least the question counterfeit or intellectual property, more and more, our customers are really, really conscious of that. And on the other side, through Internet search, you can identify faster. So it's much easier to [indiscernible] than before. So we don't see increase. What we see is increase of our customers wanting to have authentication and we [indiscernible] to give them safety. But things are not worsen...

Very good point that Cyrille just made. We are very well progressed into -- and it's very sophisticated. But to actually give certification, when you buy -- from a LOVE bracelet obviously to watches, high jewelry is not a problem. But because they're unique pieces where we can actually give a digital certificate to accompany the product. And we will even be able to retroactively do it for customers that have La Clé or LOVE bracelet for the authenticity. There's another -- it's a very interesting question and a very good question. But countries that did not have their own products that needed intellectual property protection tended to be more lax on providing IP protection. But as we see countries -- if you look for instance at China, and electric cars, they will dominate the market, Europe. So their own producers, and they're entering the luxury goods business with some very lovely products. They will then demand of their governments to strengthen intellectual property protection. So there's been a very good tendency and a trend in the world where the IP protection is no longer just requested, from let us say, the European or the older Maisons and older trademarks. This is increasingly being demanded by, for instance, Chinese industrialists who have their own IP to protect. So it's a point that I didn't think of, but to support the real -- we're really seeing a far better protection and with result in customs protection and scanning. But it's a constant monitoring process. But I must just finally add. About 20 years ago, one of my Cartier colleague more like crazy about copying. And I said there's a far worse thing not being copied. If your watch is not being copied, it means you've got -- 5-year on your hand. So it's actually, as they say, flattery, imitation is flattery. So we will know immediately whether something is a hit by people attempting to copy it. I hope that's a satisfactory answer.

And for the second question, but we don't see a difference into the, I think, a different customer profile, meaning upper middle class or the high net worth individual. What we can see and what Johann mentioned that people are more quiet or reserved. So we see people take more time to decide in all categories and they take that. So there is kind of taking time to consider and to make sure about decision, which favors, you see the well-established brands compared to those who are just speculating. We see also that on the secondhand market, where there was kind of a crazy price that come at some point just for speculation, and this has calmed down a lot. So it's smallest question of coming down, taking more time for decision, but not a question of customers' profile. They add more rationally all across.

And they also, as you said earlier on the Cyrille, they feel comfort with authentic brand.

Reassuring.

Reassuring, that's a better way, reassured by that.

The next question comes from the line of Jon Cox, Kepler Cheuvreux.

Jon Cox, Kepler Cheuvreux. I want to come back to what my colleague was saying just on -- in terms of the margin, FX headwinds. You mentioned 250 basis points impact on margin in H1. Just wondering, going into the second half of the year, the currency headwinds based on the spot rate are probably about half of what they were in H1. If that's the case, should we just expect half of those 250 basis points? And as part of that, given your commitment to equalize prices globally, wouldn't you start to actually increase prices in those areas where you're getting that sort of negative transaction impact because of the Swiss franc cost base? So will you be doing price increases in H2? And as part of that, I see that your Watches & Wonders, next year is going to be -- it's going to fall into the new financial year. I know typically that can be like a EUR 50 million spend. I guess that will now be in the next financial year. So it's like a margin question. The second question is just a technical one on your warrant scheme, which is great. It looks like it's rewarding shareholders. But the -- it looks like you're just going to dilute shares by about 3%, even though you're going to get CHF 67 per share. Are you going to sort of try and neutralize that at all? Because obviously, that CHF 67 per share cash in, that's just going to stack up on your cash [ power ], or are you going to do something to try and offset it. So the dilution would be the fair amount, which would probably just be 1% of new shares.

Jon, there was -- I don't know how many questions, probably five or so. I mean, once again, I'll let you figure out the FX question because, honestly, yes, obviously, in the second half of the year, the dollar has -- I mean, last year has started to weaken, which would argue for having a lesser impact on our top line flowing through. We'll have to see how that plays out. The Swiss franc is the other question that we are unable to answer right now because once again, that has an impact on our cost of sales and our cost base. So -- but directionally, on the U.S. dollar, obviously, you observed the right thing.

There was a question on price increase?

And I think there was a question, sorry. There was also a question about Watches & Wonders. Yes, I would say the biggest part of the spend on Watches & Wonders will happen in the next fiscal year, meaning the spend will be split over the end of this year and the beginning of next fiscal year's.

Yes. Just Jerome speaking. Just Watches & Wonders takes us here 6 to 8 weeks to build. So we have to pay our suppliers during these -- weeks, so the cash effect of it is quite dilutive between the exercise. It's a very, very marginal.

Yes. Cash effect is marginal and the spend is split. Pricing?

So there were some price increase that already happened before that. And so we don't plan you on. And there was an equalization of -- mentioned because the Japanese yen was very low. We adjusted slightly, but that's all.

I don't think the luxury goods industry will be using pricing as a tool over the next 2 years. And we are very, very glad that we did not use pricing like one or two of our competitors, because today, the customers remember. And there is a reluctance. Some people increase the prices for similar products by 60%, 80%. And I think today, they may regret having done so. In terms of the loyalty scheme, you will recall that we did it because we have the develop it. When we lost in April, at the beginning of COVID, nearly EUR 430 million in the month. And it really was a bit on humanity's capacity to find a vaccine and for it to happen within 3 years. So we felt that we were going to reward the shareholders for the cash that they were losing in the dividend, and we're very happy to say that, that has occurred. In terms of dilution, the people who kept their shares, it's -- as Mr. Buffett said, how big is the cake. Cake doesn't increase. You just slice it. If you have a pizza and you slice it in 4 or 12, it doesn't increase the size of the pizza. So anybody who kept his shares and to exercise the warrant is better off. Do trust me, I never sell shares, and I've done the calculations myself, and I makes of size it.

Let's -- maybe -- it's already 11:12, should it be the last question.

The next question comes from the line of Thierry Cota, Societe Generale.

This is Thierry Cota from SocGen. I just have one left, actually. On the watch industry as a whole, Watches of Switzerland indicated recently that in their view, the sell-in and de facto Swiss watch exports data is above sellout currently in the industry and above actual demand. So I understand your cautious policy of selling below sellout, but maybe it's on the case of your peers. I was -- of them. I was wondering whether you observe that as well. And if there was any concern about the health of the overall industry for you in this respect?

I cannot speak on behalf of Watches of Switzerland, or our competitors. But I would be very surprised if our biggest competitor is not a lot smarter, and if they are not selling -- I'm pretty sure they're not selling any more than they're selling now.

Maybe as well to head. It is also that our watch industry is also still very run by calendar either by the regular calendar. So in festive season is a very important period. And we are selling goods. So these goods need to be shipped in these countries. So it can take according to the logistics supply chain of the different Maisons, a few months or a few weeks before the product arrives. So I think that out of the sell-in and sell-out, the call is not to be too sensitive to quarterly data when it comes to watches. Particularly if you are after manufacture, summer break in Switzerland, not exporting during [indiscernible] six weeks, then manufacture reopen and then you export more. And then if you have the cut of the quarter between the period, you can mislead very quickly in geographies, performance, penetration and these kind of things. So it's at least to have caution in the analysis of these numbers or the export numbers on a quarterly basis, I guess.

What you think it be...

Sorry, it's a very good question. But I think all of us in the industry, plus wholesale that I actually call partners, not clients, have learned the danger of overstocking. So I do not think the people are going to make the same mistakes that we all made 5, 6 years ago. But there's also the question of holding on to inventory. When you have very low interest rates, it's a lot easier to hold on to stock. So I think we have to realize that the Fed is succeeding, and there is a tampering down. To get inflation down, they've got to drive down wage demands, and which means unfortunately, they've got to estimate how high they politically allowed to get unemployment. Secondly, they're dealing with lag indicators, not lead indicators, and one must be fearful that they don't overshoot. Because their track record up till now in overshooting in oversupplying liquidity is so woefully bad that this is of those 95% things that are worry of 95% my time with 5% realization. Maybe here, this realization is higher. So this will have an effect on business in general, including our wholesale partners that the cost of holding on to stock will be a lot higher. So let's assume that most of us do not really expect. If you want to grow your sales, you're going to have to increase market share. But that also has another thing in it, which is -- I'll give you an example. To make a complicated Lange & Söhne watch, you have to be a watch maker for at least 15 years. 15 years ago, there were not too many people in Glashütte they're lining up outside of our factories looking for work. So when we have -- in a number of our watch manufacture, long waiting lists, these are not created artificially. They simply created by the lack of capacity because of skilled artisans. I always joked that we will sell less Langes than Ferrari will sell car. Now it's half. So Lange is half. And clients are willing to wait for longer time. So certain watch manufacturers will not suffer simply because they limited by supply capacity because of the capacity of human beings. Others will reach market supply capacity a lot quicker. So we should really look deeply into the numbers, and adjust our total supply chain accordingly. And there, luckily, we have, I would say, I don't know the factor of what more visibility than we have 6, 7 years ago. So -- and our supply chain is more flexible, quicker. For instance, we talk about sober watches. We noticed that 7, 8 years ago. And as the cause of the [ hamburger ] watch through Panerai, we cautioned our colleagues standard watches, smaller watches and more platinum white gold because people are not going to want to show. So that took us 2 or 3 years because you can understand, to move simply from blind to sobriety, it took 2 or 3 years. That's paying off now. We see a long waiting list for watches that are understated. Even at Cartier, it's -- so luckily, we foresaw that a while ago and geared our production and our launches towards that.

For an example, our Tank Normale, which was [ relation in platinum, ] we could be oversold 10x.

Exactly.

It was limited quantity, and it was really, really well, well received. Or the anniversary watch for the Pebble or the Crash watch are really in high demand, but they are limited, and that's make their value.

Good. So I think this concludes the results presentation. Thank you very much for attending. And if you got any more questions, James and I are here to help. [Foreign Language] Thank you. Have a good day and a good weekend. Bye-bye.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Thank you.

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