Aeffe’s nine-month profits surge past 2019 result

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Nov 12, 2021

Aeffe’s positive 2021 performance continues unabated in the final part of the year, confirming a further improvement in its fortunes. Between January and September 2021, the Italian fashion group generated a revenue of €250 million, up 21% compared to the first nine months of 2020, when the market was still in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic. The figure was however 7% below Aeffe's 2019 pre-pandemic levels. A result that was influenced by the group's marked reliance on Europe and Italy (accounting for 71% of total sales), where the lack of wealthy tourists is still conspicuous.

Aeffe, with its licensed labels, like Jeremy Scott, and its own brands (Alberta Ferretti, Philosophy, Moschino and footwear label Pollini), has however managed to return to profitability, improving from a net loss of €14 million in the first nine months of 2020 to a net income of €23.2 million a year later. A profit that was also 74% above pre-pandemic levels.

In the same period, Aeffe’s EBITDA grew from €8 million in 2020 to €36.2 million a year later, while EBIT improved from a loss of €12.5 million to a €17.5 million profit as of September 30 2021. “[Our] profit margin increased more than proportionately in relation to the rise in revenue owing to a significant increase in sales and to the positive effect of savings in terms of labour costs, rents and general overheads,” stated Aeffe in a press release.

The group recorded double-digit growth in all its markets over the first nine months of 2020, though it is struggling to return to 2019 levels, notably in Asia, where sales have slumped by 25% in two years, and in Italy, where they dropped 18%. In the rest of Europe, and despite the limited tourist flows, sales have instead taken off, growing 29.3% over two years, to €80.7 million. Europe’s revenue share increased from 23% two years ago to 32%, while in America, still a small market for Aeffe, worth €16.5 million, sales grew 17.7%, and were up 46% over 2020.

Moschino, Aeffe’s leading label after the group recently took total control, buying the 30% stake still outstanding, confirmed once more its role as the group’s main driver. Moschino continues to increase its share of revenue in relation to the other Aeffe labels, and now accounts for 80% of the total, as opposed to 74% in 2019. In the first nine months of 2021, it generated a revenue of €199.9 million, 0.2% more than it did two years ago.
 
As of September 30, Aeffe operated 57 directly run monobrand stores and 141 franchised ones, for a total of 201 stores, compared to 203 a year earlier. Direct retail accounted for 20% of the group’s revenue (it was 27% in 2019), growing 1.5% at constant exchange rates year-on-year to €50.8 million, while being down 29% over two years. Sales in the wholesale channel, which accounts for 76% of the group’s total, grew instead by 27.5% over 2020, reaching €189.4 million and exceeding by 1% the result of the first nine months of 2019.