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Nicola Mira
Published
Jun 12, 2019
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Piquadro’s 2018-19 revenue soars by 51.1%

Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
Jun 12, 2019

On the eve of the summer edition of the Pitti Uomo menswear show, Italian leather goods group Piquadro has published the results of the financial year which ended on March 31 2019.

Boss Marco Palmieri must undoubtedly be satisfied with the group’s performance, notably driven by the growth of French leather goods label Lancel, which Palmieri bought from the Richemont group in June 2018. In just a few months, Piquadro was able to restore the historic brand to its former glory, after a period of gradual decline which heralded a rather different future for Lancel.


Marco Palmieri, president and CEO of the Piquadro group

 
In the financial period in question, the Piquadro group generated a revenue of €147.5 million, up 51.5% over the €97.63 million generated the previous year. This increase was strongly influenced by Lancel, whose revenue was €45.2 million, as well as by the positive sales performance of the group’s other brands, Piquadro and The Bridge. Comparable sales for the group were worth €102.3 million (+4.8%).

Piquadro S.p.A., the parent company, recorded a net sales revenue of €72.79 million, 3.2% higher than the revenue recorded in the previous financial year. It grew 2.6% on the Italian domestic market and 11.1% in Europe, chiefly driven by the retail channel.

Globally, the Piquadro brand grew 2.6%, with the retail channel (including directly operated e-tail) up 4.3, and the wholesale channel, which accounted for 58.3% of total revenue, up 1.4%. The Bridge recorded an 11,6% revenue rise, with retail sales up 14.7% and the wholesale channel (worth 68.8% of total sales) growing by 10.3%. As for Lancel, which contributed to approximately 46.3% of the group’s growth, 82.8% of its revenue came from the direct retail channel, via its e-shop and its 58 monobrand stores in France, two in Italy and one each in Spain, Russia and China.
 
Thanks to the French label, the group’s exports recorded a significant increase: while in Italy Lancel’s contribution to growth was a mere 2.3%, in Europe it accounted for 199.8% of growth, and in the rest of the world for 82.3%. More specifically, the domestic market (worth 53.9% of the group’s total revenue) increased by 7.2% (+4.9% excluding Lancel); Europe (43% of the total) grew by 207.4% (7.6% without Lancel); and the rest of the world grew by 62.9%. Lancel’s acquisition did however depress the group’s profitability: EBITDA was €0.83 million, as opposed to €10.78 million in the previous financial year, owing to the French label's negative performance (-€11.4 million) and to acquisition costs for €1.42 million. Adjusted EBITDA, the sum of the results posted by Piquadro and The Bridge, excluding non-recurring costs, was instead €12.01 million, up 11.4%. Net income for the group was €34.48 million.    
 
“The results of the first consolidated financial statement incorporating Lancel were positive all round,” said Marco Palmieri, president and CEO of the Piquadro group, speaking to FashionNetwork.com. “Comparable adjusted EBITDA, featuring the Piquadro and The Bridge brands, grew in double digits, confirming the brands’ excellent performance. Lancel is showing the first signs of a turnaround, and the new collections are doing very well. In April and May, the first two months of the new financial year, we had double-digit growth in like-for-like terms, even in France, despite the country’s troubled situation. This is proof that the product, market positioning and organisational strategies we are deploying to realise [Lancel’s] extraordinary potential are already bearing the expected fruits. With a consolidated net income of €34.48 million and a net financial position of €25.6 million, we will continue to invest: in 2019 we will surely open two Lancel stores in Asia and another one in France, as well as two Piquadro stores, one of them in Bari, Italy. By the autumn, we will also introduce a new retail format for The Bridge,” said Palmieri.

On the strength of these results, the Piquadro group is forecasting a revenue in excess of €160 million for the financial year ending on March 31 2020, completing the turnaround of Lancel and recording positive EBITDA results again. At the next AGM, scheduled on July 25, the board of directors will propose a dividend of €0.08 per share, for a total of €4 million.

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