The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that LVMH said the Iran war shaved at least 1 per cent off its total group sales in the last quarter owing to lower spending in the Gulf region, and that fewer tourists in Europe added to the weakness. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that the news from LVMH is likely to increase investors' worries about the Gulf conflict's impact on a nascent recovery in the $400-billion (U.S.) luxury industry. Global quarterly sales at the owner of brands including Louis Vuitton and Dior, Bulgari jewellery and Hennessy, rose by 1 per cent when adjusted for currency swings, slightly below analyst estimates of a 1.5-per-cent rise. The group's finance chief Cecile Cabanis said the situation in the Middle East has not markedly improved since the heavy disruption seen in shopping hubs at the start of the war. "What we see today is still that demand is very much down." Reuters reported that mall sales in Dubai fell by as much as 50 per cent since U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran at the end of February. Ms. Cabanis said mall traffic in a region representing 6 per cent of LVMH's turnover had initially dropped by between 30 per cent and 70 per cent, citing 50 per cent as an average.