LVMH to Build New Workshop Making Louis Vuitton Bags in Italy 

A Louis Vuitton bag is seen in a shop in downtown Rome, Italy March 1, 2016. (Reuters)
A Louis Vuitton bag is seen in a shop in downtown Rome, Italy March 1, 2016. (Reuters)
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LVMH to Build New Workshop Making Louis Vuitton Bags in Italy 

A Louis Vuitton bag is seen in a shop in downtown Rome, Italy March 1, 2016. (Reuters)
A Louis Vuitton bag is seen in a shop in downtown Rome, Italy March 1, 2016. (Reuters)

LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods group, plans a new factory in Italy producing Louis Vuitton bags and other leather accessories, the Tuscany region said on Friday. 

The workshop will be the largest in Italy entirely dedicated to making these products for Louis Vuitton, said the region, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LVMH. 

It will be located in the small town of Sieci and will be the third making Louis Vuitton goods in the Tuscany region. 

The MoU has a duration of three years and envisages that the total number of staff employed by LVMH in the region will rise to 450, from 270 at present.  



Puma Announces Cost-Cutting after 2024 Net Profit Misses Expectations

A handbag with the logo of German sports goods firm Puma is pictured in a shop after the company's annual news conference in Herzogenaurach, Germany February 20, 2014. (Reuters)
A handbag with the logo of German sports goods firm Puma is pictured in a shop after the company's annual news conference in Herzogenaurach, Germany February 20, 2014. (Reuters)
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Puma Announces Cost-Cutting after 2024 Net Profit Misses Expectations

A handbag with the logo of German sports goods firm Puma is pictured in a shop after the company's annual news conference in Herzogenaurach, Germany February 20, 2014. (Reuters)
A handbag with the logo of German sports goods firm Puma is pictured in a shop after the company's annual news conference in Herzogenaurach, Germany February 20, 2014. (Reuters)

Sportswear brand Puma announced a cost-cutting program on Wednesday after reporting 2024 net profit below the prior year's level, missing its expectations.

Net profit was 282 million euros ($294 million) for the year, compared to 305 million euros in 2023, Puma said in preliminary results released after markets closed.

"While we achieved solid sales growth in 2024 and made meaningful progress on our strategic initiatives, we are not satisfied with our profitability," said Arne Freundt, CEO of PUMA, without saying what its expectations were.

The cost-cutting program aims to get Puma back to earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin of 8.5% by 2027. The EBIT margin for 2024 was 7.1%.

For the fourth quarter, a key shopping period, Puma reported sales grew by 9.8% in currency-adjusted terms, to 2.289 billion euros ($2.38 billion).

Over 2024 as a whole, sales were up by 4.4% in currency-adjusted terms, to 8.817 billion euros.