Swiss watchmakers have seen their sales slide due to store closures around the world and as Chinese tourists, their most important customers, could not travel and shop.

"As of 30 June, all distribution centres and most stores have reopened with exceptions in the Americas and travel retail," the maker of Cartier jewellery and IWC watches said in a statement on Thursday.

Sales fell 47% to 1.99 billion euros ($2.27 billion) in its first quarter, Richemont said, a similar decline to that at peer Swatch Group that posted its first ever half-year loss this week.

Richemont shares were indicated 3.8% lower.

Richemont said sales had contracted across all regions, channels and business areas. Asia Pacific fared a bit better thanks to a 49% sales increase in China, where online sales more than doubled and shoppers unable to travel bought more at home.

Online distributors also fared better than other channels as the pandemic helped accelerate the shift to ecommerce, but were affected by the closure of distribution centres.

Bernstein analyst Luca Solca said Richemont sales came in a touch below expectations, but shares prices were most sensitive about the trading outlook. "Strong Chinese consumer appetite for Richemont's top brands is reassuring on this front," he said.

Richemont last month reshuffled management and had to backpedal on its plan to cut employee bonuses after raising top executives' pay by a third for the year to March.

($1 = 0.8774 euros)

(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Michael Shields)