LVMH CEO says Dior sales could reach 5 bln eur this year

LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault said on Thursday that total sales at fashion and cosmetics brand Christian Dior, the luxury group's parent company, could reach more than 5 billion euros ($5.63 billion) this year.

"The sales of Dior are starting to become quite significant... they could be more than 5 billion euros in 2016," Arnault told shareholders at LVMH's annual general meeting in Paris.

Dior Couture, the fashion division of the brand, on Tuesday published a 1 percent drop in reported sales to 429 million euros in the three months to March 31, hit by a drop in tourist numbers in Paris and several major Asian markets.

A year ago, Christian Dior Couture's sales growth during the period was above 20 percent in reported terms.

$1 = 0.8880 euros