Balmain Designer Says Robbers Made off with 50 Items for His Upcoming Paris Fashion Week Show

Models present creations by designer Olivier Rousteing as part of his Spring-Summer 2023 ready-to-wear collection show for fashion house Balmain during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, September 28, 2022. (Reuters)
Models present creations by designer Olivier Rousteing as part of his Spring-Summer 2023 ready-to-wear collection show for fashion house Balmain during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, September 28, 2022. (Reuters)
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Balmain Designer Says Robbers Made off with 50 Items for His Upcoming Paris Fashion Week Show

Models present creations by designer Olivier Rousteing as part of his Spring-Summer 2023 ready-to-wear collection show for fashion house Balmain during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, September 28, 2022. (Reuters)
Models present creations by designer Olivier Rousteing as part of his Spring-Summer 2023 ready-to-wear collection show for fashion house Balmain during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, September 28, 2022. (Reuters)

Balmain artistic director Olivier Rousteing says robbers have made off with more than 50 pieces of the new collection that his Paris house intends to show at Fashion Week later this month.

Posting overnight Sunday on Instagram, Rousteing said a group of people hijacked his delivery driver on the way from an airport to Balmain's Paris headquarters. He said they made off with the last pieces he'd been expecting for the Sept. 27 womenswear show — more than 50 items in all. He didn't detail the pieces.

"Our delivery was hijacked," he wrote. "Thank God, the driver is safe."

"So many people worked so hard to make this collection," he added. "We are redoing everything but this is so so disrespectful."

"We won’t give up."

He didn't specify which airport the delivery driver was coming from. Paris has two main international airports. Rousteing wrote that he'd been waiting in his office Saturday morning when "our driver called us and said that he was hijacked by a group of people."

"This is so unfair. My team and I worked so hard," he wrote. "We will work more, days and nights. Our suppliers will work days and night as well."

Paris police directed Associated Press questions to prosecutors who couldn't immediately be reached for comment on the weekend.



Birkenstock Results Beat on Resilient Demand, Forecasts Margin Recovery

A Birkenstock shoe is displayed at Birkenstock shoe store in London, Britain, October 11, 2023. (Reuters)
A Birkenstock shoe is displayed at Birkenstock shoe store in London, Britain, October 11, 2023. (Reuters)
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Birkenstock Results Beat on Resilient Demand, Forecasts Margin Recovery

A Birkenstock shoe is displayed at Birkenstock shoe store in London, Britain, October 11, 2023. (Reuters)
A Birkenstock shoe is displayed at Birkenstock shoe store in London, Britain, October 11, 2023. (Reuters)

Birkenstock beat market expectations for fourth-quarter results on robust demand for its pricey footwear and forecast a recovery in margins in fiscal 2025, sending the company's shares up 7% on Wednesday.

With fresh styles becoming a priority for consumers, Birkenstock's sandals and closed-toe clogs have drawn new customers both at its own stores and at retailers.

The company bypassed steep discounting trends evident during the holiday shopping season, which Birkenstock executives said was off to a strong start globally.

"The expansion of ranges into more closed-toe silhouette has helped boost revenue, given that they offer multi-season wear," Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said.

Germany-based Birkenstock's average selling prices across its product range were up 8% in fiscal 2024, in part due to higher sales of clogs, the company said, adding that closed-toe styles now made up about a third of its business.

The company has invested in expanding its global store presence and increasing manufacturing capacity this year to meet demand.

While it led to a 330-basis point drop in gross margins in fiscal 2024, Birkenstock forecast a recovery in margins in fiscal 2025 as it ramps up production from new facilities.

The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of 455.8 million euros ($478.27 million), compared with the average analyst estimate of 439.2 million euros, according to data compiled by LSEG.

However, Birkenstock's forecast for fiscal 2025 revenue to increase between 15% and 17% was below estimates of 17.5% growth.

"It would appear with this incredibly healthy growth, the company is choosing to adopt a conservative approach that they expect to be able to meet and beat," BMO Capital Markets analyst Simeon Siegel said.

On an adjusted basis, Birkenstock earned 0.29 euro per share, beating estimates of 0.26 euro.