Tensions in the Middle East make luxury stocks suffer
From Milan to Paris, a flurry of declines for stocks in the sector. The area was considered the most promising for the high-end market
On the sidelines of any announcement on the results for the first nine months of 2025 or the entire financial year, managers and entrepreneurs have in recent months repeated more or less the same concept: the Middle East has compensated for the difficulties in other areas, Asia in the lead, it is there that we will concentrate our investments in 2026 and it is in countries such as the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar that we expect the greatest growth in sales.
It is therefore not surprising that luxury stocks plunged yesterday: at Piazza Affari among the hardest hit were Brunello Cucinelli (-4.57%), Ferrari (-4%) and Moncler (-3.18%), which had been among the very few high-end companies to close 2025 in a positive position. In Paris Hermès, Lvmh and Kering lost 4%, 4.34% and 5% respectively, in line with Richemont (-5.7% in Zurich). The drop also affected mid-range and even fast fashion companies: Inditex - the Spanish giant that controls, among others, Zara - lost 4.9% in Madrid, H&M almost 4% in Stockholm. The consequences of the war from Iran will be felt not only in luxury, but throughout the fashion industry.
Better, again yesterday - so to speak - the Prada group, which is listed in Hong Kong and which on Thursday 5 March will give its 2025 financial year figures, after nine months of double-digit growth in revenues and profitability, also thanks to the Middle East: yesterday the stock had closed down 1.84%.
