We purchased a new position in Richemont (XSWX:CFR, Financial) (Switzerland) during the third quarter. Richemont is one of the world’s largest luxury goods firms and maintains a portfolio of brands that range from Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels in jewelry to Piaget and Baume & Mercier in watches to Dunhill in leather goods and Montblanc in high-performance pens. In our view, this is one of the most attractive portfolios of luxury goods brands in the world. We find the company’s exposure to the jewelry market via the largest (Cartier) and third-largest (Van Cleef & Arpels) brands especially appealing given our expectations for the category to achieve strong levels of growth and profitability. Moreover, demand for luxury goods is closely tied to wealth creation, and considering that the number of new millionaires is growing by about 6% globally per year, we are pleased with Richemont’s exposure to this fast-growing demographic. Finally, Richemont’s management team has a strong track record of impressive decision-making and creating long-term value for shareholders.
From David Herro (Trades, Portfolio) and Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio)'s Oakmark Global Select Fund third-quarter 2022 commentary.
