Slow isle tourist spending hurts LVMH sales

Paris >> LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the largest luxury goods maker, said sales fell 4 percent in the fourth-quarter as tourists spent less in locations such as Hawaii. Sales fell to 3.538 billion euros ($3.14 billion) in the quarter from 3.689 billion in the final quarter of 2000. Full-year sales rose 5 percent, said Olivier Labesse, a spokesman.

The maker of Veuve Clicquot champagne and Kenzo fashions has suffered more than some rivals since Sept. 11 because many of its stores cater to tourists. Tiffany & Co., the U.S. jewelry retailer, said sales fell 2 percent in November and December.

LVMH's DFS retail division has been "particularly affected," Aline Nguyen, an analyst at BNP Paribas, said in a note to clients yesterday. "The number of Japanese tourists is in sharp decline in certain destinations, such as Hawaii."

United OKs 37% raise for its mechanics

CHICAGO >> United Airlines agreed yesterday to accept a presidential panel's recommendation of a 37 percent pay raise for the carrier's nearly 13,000 mechanics. The announcement could end a long labor dispute with its mechanics, who had threatened to strike.

A top United mechanic earns $25.60 an hour, but at American Airlines, the biggest carrier, top mechanics' pay is $34 an hour.

Under the recommendation, a senior United worker's hourly pay would rise immediately to $35.14 and increase to $37.54 by mid-2004. The union was seeking $39.27 by mid-2004.