PARIS, June 9 (Reuters) - French retail group PPR said on Monday it aimed to outperform the global luxury market in 2008 as it signed a deal with Swiss luxury watch maker Sowind Group, which includes the Girard-Perregaux brand.
Speaking at an annual shareholder meeting, Chief Executive Francois-Henri Pinault said the world luxury market was still looking healthy "even if growth rates are slowing".
"The market is pulled up by new clienteles and new countries which offset the slowdown in some more mature markets. In this context, our luxury division Gucci Group retains its target of doing better this year than the overall market," he said.
Like-for-like sales at PPR's luxury business rose 9.6 percent in the first quarter, down from 16 percent a year earlier and 14.2 percent in the previous quarter.
PPR , which owns fashion house Gucci, said earlier it would buy a 23 percent interest in the Sowind group and could increase its stake. It did not give financial details.
Sowind Chairman Luigi Macaluso will retain control of the group and join the Gucci Group Management Committee.
The deal comes weeks after PPR rival LVMH agreed to buy Swiss watchmaker Hublot.
PPR said the Gucci Group aimed to establish itself in the high-end watch segment.
The global luxury watch market is worth 18 billion euros, according to an estimate from Swiss bank Vontobel. (Reporting by Jessica Mead, Yann Le Guernigou, editing by Will Waterman)