Nick Kostov

Burberry shares tumbled after the British luxury brand warned on profit, axed dividend payouts and replaced its chief executive. Monday's update from the London-listed fashion house was an ominous sign at the start of earnings season.

Burberry shares tumbled after the British luxury brand warned on profit, axed dividend payouts and replaced its chief executive. Monday's update from the London-listed fashion house was an ominous sign at the start of earnings season. Also on Monday, Swatch Group reported a first-half decline in sales due to waning demand for luxury goods in China.

French billionaire François-Henri Pinault is taking hands-on approach as he scrambles to catch up to rival LVMH.

French billionaire François-Henri Pinault is taking hands-on approach as he scrambles to catch up to rival LVMH.

China, the engine of the luxury-goods industry, is stalling out as the country’s middle-class consumers rein in spending that has long powered the growth of some of the world’s most upscale labels. The erosion of Chinese demand was cast into relief Tuesday as LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the owner of Louis Vuitton and Dior, said sales in its Asia market—which is dominated by China and excludes Japan—dropped 14% over a three-month period ending on June 30, stripping out the effects of currency fluctuations. The decline was partially offset by spending by Chinese tourists abroad, the company said.

Gucci is still in the doldrums. The luxury fashion brand on Wednesday reported a 20% drop in sales and a 44% fall in operating profit for the first half of the year as efforts to revive the label’s fortunes stumbled. Overall, Kering–home to a raft of high-end brands including Saint Laurent and Balenciaga–said first-half revenue and earnings fell as it contends with a spending downturn on luxury goods in both China and the U.S. While many luxury brands are under pressure, Gucci has performed particularly badly, with management working to make the label's famously wild fashions a bit more timeless and a bit less subject to the whims of aspirational shoppers chasing the latest trends.

Nick Kostov 5 min read In This Article PARIS—Champagne's biggest producer is giving alcohol-free bubbly a try.

From Louis Vuitton trophy cases to Moët & Chandon on the podium, the luxury conglomerate is pulling out the stops with a 10-year sponsorship deal.

Alexandre Arnault, a son of LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault, is stepping into a senior management role at the group's vast wines-and-spirits business, a

Arnault sought to distance himself from what prosecutors allege was a yearslong intelligence-gathering operation that targeted his foes.