The glories of summer 2013, when the Tod’s stock broke through 140 euros, are a distant memory, but the entry of Chiara Ferragni into the board of directors of the group, the Della Valle family’s company from Marche tries to put 2020 behind it The annus horribilis of fashion. Since the announcement of the co-optation of the influencer entrepreneur on the board, on April 9, the group’s stock has recovered 24%: a three-day rally that led the shares to break the psychological threshold of 30 euros. And it raised the capitalization of 220 million euros to 1.17 billion euros.
On the other hand, 2020 was a nightmare year. The pandemic cut the group’s revenues by 30% to 637.1 million euros with a net loss of 73.2 million euros and a negative adjusted ebit of 93.7 million. And the decision not to distribute any dividends. To understand the extent of the blow, in 2019, Tod’s had recorded a net profit of 46.3 million euros.
The market, therefore, is betting on the company’s ability to intercept that younger market segment that does not have the group’s brands on its radar. On the other hand, the company explained that it had appointed Chiara Ferragni to the board of directors “considering it increasingly important to deal with social commitment, solidarity towards others and sustainability in respect of the environment and dialogue with the younger generations”.
Moreover, already in 2017, the influencer had been involved by Tod’s in a communication campaign that had the aim of conquering the millennials who were not very attracted to the brand. At that time the #Chiaralovestods project was born: a sort of limited edition aimed at younger consumers.
“I am very pleased – said Diego Della Valle – that Chiara Ferragni has joined the board of Tod’s. His knowledge of the world of young people will certainly be invaluable. Furthermore, together, we will try to build solidarity and support projects for those in greatest need, raising awareness and involving the new generations more and more in operations of this type ”.
The appointment was certainly appreciated by the markets that in a few days have recovered all the value lost since February 2020. “We are sure – comments the group from the Marche region – that Chiara’s knowledge of the world of young people, combined with the experience of the members of the board of directors, can build a thought group dedicated to projects focused on solidarity with others, with a strong focus on the world of young people who, as never before, need to be listened to ”.