Watch Luxury Stocks After South Korean Airline Bag Restriction

(Bloomberg) -- Shares in France’s Kering SA, LVMH and Hermes International and other luxury goods stocks could be active after Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea’s second-largest carrier, said it would stop carrying baggage meant for “commercial purposes” on passenger flights bound for mainland China and Hong Kong from Oct. 22 for safety reasons.

Luxury items such as pricey bags and cosmetics are often bought in South Korea and resold in China. The airline’s announcement comes in a sector that has been rattled in recent weeks by social media posts and LVMH’s comments on China cracking down on travelers returning home with suitcases full of luxury goods. Shares in Japan’s Shiseido Co., LVMH, Kering, Moncler SpA as well as in Swiss watchmakers and spirits makers have plunged as a result.

Swatch Group AG, Kering and Richemont declined Thursday after disappointing Swiss watch export figures for September rekindled worries about a potential slowdown in demand for timepieces and other luxury staples in the second half of the year.

--With assistance from Sam Unsted.

To contact the reporter on this story: Albertina Torsoli in Geneva at atorsoli@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net, John Viljoen

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