Dior Shares Going Out of Style

Less than a week after their flotation, shares in French fashion house Christian Dior are falling.

The drop has confirmed share analysts’ predictions that the issue would not be the runaway success that Chairman Bernard Arnault had anticipated.

A total of 1.92 million Dior shares, previously held by seven shareholders, were offered for sale at $76.30 (410 French francs) each last Wednesday. It was only the second time a French fashion house had ventured onto the Paris bourse.

Although both the domestic and international issues were oversubscribed, the stock started falling soon after being quoted on the Paris cash market on Thursday and it was down 9% by the end of trading on Monday.

Analysts said the poor performance was both the result of the gloomy state of the Paris bourse, which has lost the gains notched up since the Gulf War, and the share’s overpricing.