Richemont’s founder and chairman may be in the mood to cooperate with competitors, but says he has no desire to sell as the company posted robust sales and profits in fiscal 2021.

The company said it has seen a “strong start” to the new fiscal year as Johann Rupert paid tribute to Alber Elbaz, who died in April.

Artist Phoebe Hui considers the moon, and why it is slowly spinning away from Earth, for Audemars Piguet Contemporary.

Rupert has come under fire from a Swiss newspaper for getting an early vaccine from a clinic in which one of his companies has a financial interest.

Richemont’s chairman said the China-focused, global partnership with Farfetch and Alibaba will help smaller luxury players “fight giants like Amazon,” and give fashion and accessories brands greater access to a market with explosive growth.

The parent of Cartier and IWC had planned to reward shareholders for sticking with the company during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May, Johann Rupert said he wanted to compensate shareholders after slashing last year’s dividend, and thank them for sticking with the company through COVID-19, and beyond.

In its newly published Sustainability Report 2020, the parent of Cartier has laid out short-, medium- and long-term environmental goals, and is looking to strengthen its relationship with staff and suppliers.

High-end watch sales may be down, but they’re not out, thanks to flush local customers and brands’ wholehearted embrace of e-commerce.

“We are lucky in that we prepared for an economic downturn,” said Johann Rupert, Richemont’s chairman and founder. “COVID-19 merely sped up what was probably going to happen in any case: Economic reality settling in.”

Group sales for the year rose 2 percent, with the long-term outlook positive for hard luxury.

The designer is said to be readying her own collection with an eco angle.

Having just inked a deal with Richemont, Alber Elbaz is looking at fashion, luxury and the act of making and dressing in a new light.

According to well-placed sources, Vallat is returning to his former company Rémy Martin.

In fiscal 2018-19 Cartier’s parent Richemont reported a 27 percent uptick in sales and a 128 percent rise in profit, due chiefly to a one-off accounting gain.