Thanks to its financial strength and a diversified portfolio that includes champagne and spirits as well as perfume and beauty chain Sephora, LVMH is expected to weather the COVID-19 crisis better than most rivals. This is mirrored in its share price, which is just 9 per cent lower than its pre-COVID 19 peak, compared to -18 per cent for Gucci owner Kering, which will also release results next week, and – 40 per cent for Burberry

Yet, the group’s sales for the three months to June are forecast to plunge around 40 per cent on a like-for-like basis, a touch better than the sector average but not a significant outperformance. That is partly due to an unfavorable regional mix for the quarter. LVMH is more US-driven than China-heavy relative to peers even before the planned purchase of Tiffany. A big rebound in the key Chinese market, where shops reopened earlier, may have had less of a mitigating effect.

There are some signals already that point to LVMH being more upbeat than others about how quickly it can turn the corner. Its top fashion brands Louis Vuitton and Dior have raised prices recently, and Dior has also been very active in the past few weeks — it presented two new collections, opened a flagship store in Paris and held a series of events in China.

Bernard Arnault, Chairman has flagged some quite vigorous signs of recovery in June, even though he acknowledged that the fallout from the crisis would weigh on the group’s performance for some time yet.