When the rich cough, the stock market catches a cold. Black Monday on the Champs-Élysées of the CAC 40: luxury giants stumbled on their crocodile moccasins. A blow for caviar lovers and six-figure watch wearers: the group owned by the lord emperor of overpriced bags and inaccessible champagnes has announced a drop in sales.

Yes, you read that right: down 2%, or 20.31 billion euros, which is still… 20 billion more than we have in our account. The wines and spirits division was particularly hard hit: -9%. It would seem that even the ultra-rich have turned their backs on Dom Pérignon. After all, if you toast everything and anything, your liver says no.

Fashion and leather goods posted a slight -5%: apparently, the “bag that costs a minimum wage” collection no longer appeals as much as it used to. Perfumes were down 1%. Perhaps the rich are finally feeling the pinch? Kering, Gucci’s parent company, took a big hit with -5.2%, while Swatch Group and Richemont had a little hiccup, -1.1% and -1% respectively. It’s hard to believe that even luxury watches are struggling to come to terms with the downturn. The only one to keep a smile on its face in this depressing ball is Hermès, with a glorious +0.2%.

A feat which, in the space of a moment, enabled it to double LVMH’s market capitalization. That’s what we call a little luxury gallop. The moral? When the poor cry, nobody listens. But when the rich sneeze, the entire world of finance gets out its silk handkerchiefs.

FM