Italy's Moncler expands into perfumes as COVID crisis weighs

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's Moncler <MONC.MI> said on Thursday it had signed an agreement with France's Interparfums <IPAR.PA> to start selling perfumes, as it seeks to diversify its brand and lessen the deep impact of the coronvirus crisis on the luxury goods sector.

The first products to be produced under the deal are expected to be launched in the first months of 2022. The licence agreement will last until 2026, but can be extended for a further five years, the companies said in a joint statement.

Moncler Chairman and Chief Executive Remo Ruffini said the launch of Moncler's first fragrances was "consistent with our selective brand extension strategy".

In a separate statement, the group said the situation for luxury goods was "highly uncertain and also difficult in many markets, in particular in Europe and in Americas".

Due to lockdown measures, 36 stores globally, out of 212, were still closed, it said, adding the novel coronavirus would have "important impacts on the performance of the group's first half results," with the second quarter harder hit than the first.

Moncler's sales fell 18% in the first three months of the year.

The slump in global sales of luxury goods is expected to deepen in the second quarter for most brands, even as some countries begin to ease coronavirus lockdowns and despite signs of recovery in the Chinese market, consultancy Bain found.

(Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi; editing by Giulia Segreti and Barbara Lewis)