«We are happy with the projects born or strengthened in 2022 and with the objectives achieved, but we are already projected towards the next three years: the board of directors which approved last year’s results, also examined the three-year plan which will guide us from now to the end of 2025 and which is even more ambitious». Ubaldo Minelli, CEO of Otb, thus presents the data on revenues, profitability, investments and strategies that characterized 2022 of the group founded by Renzo Rosso around the Diesel brand and which has become one of the most important in Europe in the medium-high and high-end segment of made in Italy fashion. «In 2022 Otb grew by double digits compared to 2021, with revenues reaching 1.7 billion, an increase of 14%, but it is interesting to look in detail within the group, which has become increasingly articulated over the years». underlines Minelli. A structure that makes it unique in the Italian panorama and not only for the size of the revenues (there are still few in our country billion euro companies in the fashion segment). Otb owns the Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor&Rolf brands and a stake in the Amiri brand, as well as two companies: the first is Staff International, the manufacturing arm, which also manages production and distribution licenses for non-owned brands , the second is Brave Kid, which follows the junior clothing.
The performance of luxury brands
The brands of the sector that Minelli and Rosso define luxury (Jil Sander, Maison Margiela and Marni) have led the development of Otb, growing in 2022 by 32% compared to 2021 and more than doubling sales (+103%) on 2019, the pre-Covid year. «Staff International and Brave Kid have also made a significant contribution, with revenues up respectively by 32% and 26% compared to 2021 – explains Minelli -, while Diesel, which remains the main brand of the group, is going through the crucial phase of repositioning, also thanks to the creative direction of Glenn Martens. We must have a little patience, because the reorganization of distribution weighed on 2022, but the results of the new creative course are excellent and on the occasion of the next Milan fashion week (which begins on February 21st, ndr), we will surprise everyone with a fashion show-event, as happened in September with the one that involved many people and above all school students».
The centrality of retail: target of 785 stores by 2025
The centrality of the Diesel brand is confirmed, for example, by the fact that it was the first, in 2020, to debut on Moon, the group’s e-commerce platform, which then welcomed Jil Sander and followed by Marni and Maison Margiela. «Physical retail remains very important and after the pandemic there has been a rebound perhaps even higher than expected – adds the CEO of Otb -. In 2022 we opened 73 stores, 1.4 a week, for middle school lovers. At the end of 2022 we had 607 stores and the goal is to reach 785 by 2025. The numbers show that, at least in Otb, cannibalization between channels does not exist: e-commerce is worth 18.2% for us, but not it has affected the physical channels, indeed. The beauty of authentic omnichannel is osmosis».
Towards 2.7 billion in revenues in 2025
For 2025, Otb is aiming for 2.7 billion in revenues, close to that goal of 3 billion that has always been declared by Renzo Rosso, in order to truly compete on a global level. “The bag? It is not among the explicit points of the three-year plan, but if the owners decide for the IPO, the group will be ready», concludes Minelli. Renzo Rosso, president of Otb, specifies that in addition to the results measured by the income statement, there are those related to sustainability and circularity. At the end of 2022, the group presented its first sustainability report and was the co-founder of the Re.crea consortium, to address the issue of textile waste. Last but not least, the Otb Foundation, which was the first to intervene in favor of Ukrainian refugees and the first ever, globally, last week, to launch an aid project for the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.