PARIS (Reuters) – Gucci owner dry out (EPA:) said Thursday that its first-quarter sales rose 21% from a year earlier, as strong demand for its high-end fashion brands in the U.S. and Europe helped offset disruptions to events in China due to the coronavirus-19 blockade.

Group sales were 4.96 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in the three months to March, slightly above the $4.89 billion forecast by Citi Thomas analysts. Chauvet tops Refinitiv Eikon’s estimation accuracy rankings.

Kering’s star brand Gucci, which accounts for more than half of the French luxury group’s annual sales, recorded 13.4 percent growth, with strong performances in the U.S., Western Europe and Japan, while COVID shutdowns disrupted operations in mainland China.

The figure was below the 23% growth expected by Chauvet and a slowdown from the previous quarter.

“The quarter overall beat estimates by 5.6%,” said Bernstein analyst Luca Solca, noting that Gucci “lagged” consensus estimates, while noting that smaller brands were “impressive.”

Sales at Yves Saint Laurent rose 37.2 percent, while sales at Bottega Veneta rose 16.3 percent.

“The fundamentals of China’s luxury goods market remain the same,” Kering chief financial officer Jean-Marc Duplex told reporters, noting the resilience of Chinese consumers after the crisis period, the growth of the middle class and the appetite of countries For luxury brands.

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