The US slows down the performance of Salvatore Ferragamo in Q1. The maison closed the first quarter of 2023 with consolidated revenues of 278 million euros, down 4% at current exchange rates and 6.5% at constant exchange rates compared to the first quarter of 2022. The retail distribution channel – explains the note of the group – recorded net sales down by 2.3% (-2.4% at constant exchange rates), mainly penalized by the slowdown in the US market, while it showed a plus sign in the EMEA area and a progressive trend improvement in China. Wholesale, on the other hand, reported a drop of 13.9% (-16.1% at constant exchange rates), “due to the planned rationalization of the distribution network, above all in the United States and the delayed recovery of travel retail in Asia Pacific, while the EMEA area recorded a solid performance”.
Among the various geographical areas, Asia Pacific recorded a -13.6% slowed by travel retail, while the performance of the stores in Greater China was positive. The trend of sales in the Japanese market left more than seven percentage points on the ground. In the first quarter of 2023, the EMEA area instead recorded an increase in sales of 24.7%, while North America reported a -19.8% (-23.4% at constant exchange rates). Lastly, Q1 closed at +5.4% in Central and South America.
“Since the end of February, the first products designed by our creative director have been present in our stores, Maximilian Davis – commented the CEO Marco Gobbetti -. Although the new collection still represents a limited part of the offer, it is nonetheless an important step in the implementation of our strategy, aimed at creating a new proposal in tune with the aspirations of customers and we are satisfied with the initial results”.
“The limited percentage of new products – he added – could not generate a significant impact on the sales performance and the effect of the new collections will not be measurable until the final part of the year”.
In the morning, Ferragamo’s shares lost almost six percentage points a Business Square. The news that arrived yesterday evening – explain the financial agencies – are however not a surprise, as already last September the company had underlined the weakness of purchases by US consumers, who in August had recorded “the worst month of 2022”. Furthermore, the publication of the quarterly reports brings investors high attention to the issue of rate hikes by central banks.