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Cartier, one of the world’s leading brands of luxury goods, has decided that South Africans have grown rich enough to justify opening a store here in November.

September 26, 2007 By Sibongile Khumalo Johannesburg – Cartier, one of the world’s leading brands of luxury goods, has decided that South Africans have grown rich enough to justify opening a store here in November. Cartier is among the stable of luxury brands owned by Richemont, the Swiss-based company owned by the Rupert family. Wilhelm Landman, the managing director of Richemont Southern Africa, said the company had been studying the local market and waiting for the right time to launch. “We believe that the time is right and the South African economy has produced people with enough buying power to spend their money on our luxury goods,” said Landman. He would not reveal how much the company would invest in the South African operation. For the year to March, Richemont’s operating profit from its luxury goods businesses increased by 24 percent to E916 million (R9 billion). Cash generated by the luxury goods operations was E970 million. The group’s interests include some of the most prestigious names in the industry, including Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Panerai and Montblanc. In addition, Richemont holds a significant investment in British American Tobacco, one of the world’s leading tobacco groups. In May Johann Rupert, the executive chairman of Richemont, said: “Richemont has enjoyed a year of substantial growth in both sales and profitability, supported by a generally positive economic background in most of the major markets in which the group’s luxury goods businesses operate.” Rupert announced an increase of 8 percent in the regular dividend due to the “excellent performance”. Roy Chapman, an equity analyst at Sanlam Investment Management, described the decision to open a dedicated Cartier store as a positive sign for economic growth and the local consumer market. “The World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini reports growth of high net worth individuals in South Africa at 13.3 percent for 2006, not far off the pace of higher-growth countries like Russia and South Korea,” Chapman said. “While the base is lower for South Africa, it has clearly reached a point where the group feels that a more significant investment is warranted.” Earlier this year Cartier opened a store in Shanghai to meet the growing demand for luxury goods by the elite in China, where it is reported that Cartier jewellery watches sell for up to 22 million yuan (R21 million). Richemont Securities rose 19c to R45.05 yesterday. The personal goods sector added 0.42 percent.