Italian Fashion House Valentino Suffers Drop in Profit in 2023

The logo of fashion house Valentino is seen outside a shop in Milan, Italy, April 8, 2024. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
The logo of fashion house Valentino is seen outside a shop in Milan, Italy, April 8, 2024. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
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Italian Fashion House Valentino Suffers Drop in Profit in 2023

The logo of fashion house Valentino is seen outside a shop in Milan, Italy, April 8, 2024. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
The logo of fashion house Valentino is seen outside a shop in Milan, Italy, April 8, 2024. REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Operating profit at Italian fashion house Valentino dropped 18% last year, to 99 million euros ($105.7 million), the company said on Tuesday.
Last year French luxury group Kering, which is struggling to revive sales at its star brand Gucci, bought a 30% stake in Valentino, with an option to purchase the whole of company's share capital by 2028.
Valentino added its 2023 revenues dropped 3% at constant exchange rate, to 1.35 billion euros ($1.44 billion).
Earlier this year Valentino hired former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele as creative director, after the departure of longtime incumbent Pierpaolo Piccioli.
Direct sales, which include e-commerce and represents 66% of total sales, rose 3% last year, boosted by a positive performance in Asia Pacific and Japan, the company said.
The second half of the year was challenging for the European market, while the Americas showed "encouraging signs" in the same period, the fashion house added.



Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
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Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Birkin-bag maker Hermes reported a 13% rise in second-quarter sales on Thursday, demonstrating the continued appetite from wealthy shoppers for its luxury handbags, even as less affluent consumers pull back.

Sales at the French luxury group grew to 3.7 billion euros ($4.02 billion), a 13% organic sales rise that strips out currency fluctuations. The figure was in line with analyst expectations, according to a Visible Alpha consensus.

Operating profit for the first half was 3.1 billion euros, compared to a forecast from consensus provider Visible Alpha for 3.2 billion.

One of the most steady performers in the luxury goods sector -- even as economic conditions worsen -- the French group's results stand out after a string of disappointing earnings updates from peers which have raised investor concern about uncertain prospects for the sector in the coming months.

Hermes' famously classic designs and tight management of production and stock have helped reinforce the label's aura of exclusivity, and CEO Axel Dumas told reporters the company had seen "no big interruption in trends".

However, he said Hermes was seeing slightly less traffic with aspirational clients, which was impacting higher volume products like fashion accessories.