Contact us   |  A  A  |  

About Richemont

Richemont owns several of the world's leading companies in the field of luxury goods, with particular strengths in jewellery, luxury watches and writing instruments.

Each of the Group's companies, or ‘Maisons’, represents a proud tradition of style, quality and craftsmanship.

We seek to preserve the heritage and identity of each of our Maisons. At the same time we are committed to innovating and designing new products which are in keeping with our Maisons’ values and heritage, through a process of continuous creativity.

Where we operate

Richemont’s headquarters are based in Geneva, Switzerland. We also have four regional offices in Geneva, Tokyo, Hong Kong and New York providing support services to our Maisons.

Each Maison has its own head office based in different countries worldwide.












Key facts about our operations

 

Financial Year
to March 2008

Financial Year
to March 2007
Percentage
difference

Sales (€ millions)

5 302

4 827

+10%

Operating profit
(€ millions)

1 108

916

+21%

Net profit attributable to unit holders (€ millions)

1 570

1 329

+18%

Number of employees

18 800

16 431

+14%

More information on sales by region and business area is available in the Richemont Annual Report 2008.

The Group structure and significant shareholders are described in the corporate governance section of our corporate website.

Richemont also currently holds a significant minority investment in British American Tobacco plc. ('BAT'), one of the world's leading tobacco companies. BAT is a public company incorporated in the United Kingdom. Further information may be obtained from its website - www.bat.com.

There were no significant changes to the Group structure during the reporting period.

However, in November 2007, we announced proposals for restructuring the company. Further information was given in May 2008. The restructuring would see Richemont separated into two entities: a luxury business, headquartered in Switzerland, and an investment vehicle, which would, under the current proposals, be based in Luxembourg and structured as an investment fund. The proposals will, if implemented, also result in a distribution of a significant part of the BAT interest to unitholders.

The proposed restructuring remains subject to approval by the Board of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA, unitholders and external regulators.