Jimmy Choo: Still confident despite gloss coming off

UPMARKET shoe brand Jimmy Choo saw its shares fall 4 per cent yesterday after underlying earnings edged up just 0.5 per cent in the first half of 2015 amid what chief executive Pierre Denis dubbed as a “lower growth luxury environment”.

Jimmy Choo: 'Lower growth luxury environment'. Picture: Jimmy Choo

The group said retail sales rose 3.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis while total revenues climbed 5.5 per cent to £158.5 million.

Jimmy Choo, whose shoes are favoured by celebrities, said sales had benefited from its growing exposure to Asia and it expected to start seeing the impact of a shop renovation and new store opening programme come through in the second half of 2015.

The company said a good performance in Japan had also contributed strongly to the performance, while there was “notable” growth for its men’s shoes.

The group’s underlying core earnings came in at £27.7m. Jimmy Choo said the global strength of its brand gave it confidence for the future despite the challenging environment for luxury goods businesses.

Shares in the firm, which listed on the London market in October, closed down 7p at 159.6p.