What's going on?

The owner of fashion brand Gucci, Kering SA, reported 2015 sales growth of 5% – far exceeding the 1.5% investors were expecting. The stock jumped 3%, although it did then sell off as the broader market finished lower on Friday.

What does this mean?

Gucci, which represents about half of Kering�s luxury sales, was hugely successful under Tom Ford in the 1990s and managed to ride its reputation until sales started declining in 2013. Diluting the brand by expanding heavily into lower priced items eventually started to bite. But, under a new brand CEO and a new designer, Gucci has had a very strong 2015 � a year that was challenging for luxury brands as slowing Chinese growth and the Paris terrorist attack hurt sales (lots of people travel to Paris to shop). These sales numbers suggest the turnaround is going according to plan.

Why should I care?

For stocks: It�s a mixed bag for luxury brands. The biggest luxury group, LVMH, recently reported better than expected sales. Hermes reported one of the highest growth rates in the sector, and now Kering has done quite well. However, Burberry�s sales were flat and Richemont�s declined.

Bigger picture: It�s a decent sign for the global economy. In a truly awful economy, sales at luxury brands would, in theory, be in real trouble. But the reality is that sales are, for the most part, doing fine. And that�s despite a Parisian terrorist attack which will have almost certainly put a significant dent in sales. This suggests that, while clearly not growing like it used to, the global economy seems to be doing ok.