INVESTORS are calling time on Richemont’s impressive growth of previous years, as the sparkle of the luxury goods sector fades. In a trading update released on Wednesday, the owner of Cartier warned that first-half profit would decline about 45%.The usually popular rand-hedge share closed more than 4% down on the day.Information from financial market data company Iress shows a year-to-date decline in Richemont’s share price of 24% from a 6.29% gain by the end of 2015. This year could mark the first time since 2008 that the company experiences a sharp drop in value.The Asia-Pacific region has been its crown since 2001, with Richemont’s sales there generally outpacing group sales.But Nic Norman-Smith, chief investment officer at Lentus Asset Management, said: "Chinese consumers have come under some pressure recently as their economic growth rate slows, and the anticorruption measures put in place appear to have also hampered demand for luxury goods."The share prices of luxury goods co...
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