News Summary

• First-quarter results released Wednesday offered a glimpse of that tension.
• LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported sales growth of 1 percent at constant currency.
• Kering, whose first-quarter sales decreased 6.2 percent, continues to grapple with a Gucci-led turnaround.
• But Hermès numbers still fell short of expectations, with analysts looking for closer to 8 percent growth.
• The French house, long defined by its tightly controlled supply and reliance on a handful of iconic leather goods, is now facing a more complex backdrop.