Jimmy Choo says Asia growth to help it outpeform luxury market

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - British shoemaker Jimmy Choo (LSE: CHOO.L - news) said strong demand in Asia would help it grow faster than the overall luxury market this year, after it posted a 7.2 percent rise in underlying revenue in 2015.

"Jimmy Choo continues to outpace the sector despite the challenging competitive environment," said Chairman Peter Harf in a statement on Tuesday.

"The company successfully reversed the first half decline in wholesale revenues and remains on track with growth forecasts in Asia and Japan where brand awareness continues to grow strongly."

Jimmy Choo said Asian revenues, excluding Japan, grew 20.1 percent at constant currencies last year, helped by new store openings in China and Hong Kong.

Japanese revenues were up 29 percent, driven by domestic demand as well as an influx of tourists from mainland China.

Growth in the luxury goods market has slowed, particularly in the second half of 2015 after the attacks in Paris put tourists off travelling to Europe, where many luxury brands make a significant proportion of their sales.

Jimmy Choo said a weaker euro had helped its sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, partly offsetting the loss of Russian visitors to the region and geopolitical uncertainty.

The company reported adjusted core earnings of 51 million pounds ($73 million) for the year ended Dec. 31, up 1.5 percent from 2014's figure of 50.2 million pounds.

($1 = 0.6957 pounds) (Reporting by Li-mei Hoang; Editing by Mark Potter)