Prada Outlines Strategic Expansion Plans as Q1 Sales Gain 13%

Yahoo

01-05-2025

MILAN — While reporting a 13 percent increase in revenues for Prada Group in the first quarter of the year, Andrea Guerra characterized the industry overall as being 'in a reshuffle mode that is not close to being finished. I think it will take another 12 months, probably, to see something different.'
For this reason, the group's chief executive officer believes 'this is a period where we can win market share with a great performance, because we have stability on one side, and we are full of creativity on the other side. So I think that stability nowadays is a very positive signal.'
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Addressing analysts during a conference call on Wednesday, Guerra said that 'normally, the first three, four months of the year are the most delicate ones from a psychological point of view.' He admitted he was pleased with group revenues that rose to 1.34 billion euros compared with 1.19 billion euros in the first quarter last year, but he was cautious about 'a market that is not easy.'
He defined 2025 'a very peculiar and very complicated year. We are finding our own ways, and we will continue to fight. We will continue to remain in a positive environment for both brands. But for sure, the last almost 24 months have not been easy, and recently, I would say that maybe we have reached the lowest plateau. We continue nurturing creativity, motivating our people to keep on with this positive double-digit growth.'
The Prada brand's retail sales were relatively flat at 827 million euros compared with 826 million euros last year, characterized as 'a resilient performance against the highest quarterly comps of 2024,' which are expected to ease slightly in the second half of the year, said chief financial officer Andrea Bonini.
Miu Miu's sales climbed 60 percent at constant exchange rates to 377 million euros, growing across categories and regions.
Asked to comment on potential overlaps and synergies, Guerra said 'we are managing the two brands totally independently. Between all brands in the universe, there are some overlaps, obviously. By growing, Miu Miu has gained market share on everyone in the market. Some brands more, some brands less. And I would say that Prada has been one of the less. Having said so, consumers are free to do whatever they want. We are constantly nurturing brand by brand and inside the brand their consumer segments by their sub-consumer segments. And we are not [having] any thoughts on cross-branding, on overlapping or anything like that. That will never be the case.'
Responding to another question about the two brands, now that the balance between them has changed, the executive said Miu Miu 'still is learning a lot from Prada. And there are so many things we can do with Miu Miu because Prada is there.'
Analysts did not ask any question about Versace, the third major brand that is expected to join the group, which also comprises the smaller Church's and Car Shoe labels.
On April 10, Prada said it is acquiring Versace from Capri Holdings for 1.25 billion euros, with the closing expected in the second half of 2025 upon regulatory approvals.
As for the first-quarter results, group retail sales rose 13 percent to 1.21 billion euros, driven by like-for-like, full-price sales.
Wholesale revenues were up 7 percent to 96 million euros and royalties grew 15 percent to 29 million euros.
While not taking part in the conference call, Patrizio Bertelli, group chairman and executive director, said in a statement that, 'We are pleased with another quarter of solid performance. In an increasingly turbulent and uncertain landscape, we continued to execute with confidence and discipline, leveraging creativity and the strength of our organization.'
Agility and flexibility are key in this environment, but 'at the same time, we believe it is essential to continue to invest with a long-term mindset, preserving and developing craftsmanship and know-how, supporting our partners and strengthening our infrastructure,' he concluded.
Guerra said Prada's resilience lay in 'a well-balanced product category mix,' and cited the opening in the quarter of the brand's first stand-alone dining space in Asia at Rong Zhai, its restored historical mansion and art space in downtown Shanghai. 'A kind of melting pot of architecture and gastronomic offer between Milan and Shanghai,' the project was conceived by renowned arthouse director Wong Kar Wai. There also was the opening of a Prada Caffè in Singapore.
The Prada brand 'continues on its journey of cultural innovation and after a very long temporary gastronomic offer in Harrods,' Guerra said. Rong Zhai, he continued, 'is a cultural landmark and it has become the brand's epicenter in China, with a section dedicated to Fondazione Prada, a section dedicated to the ultimate experience of our clients, and a section in the garden dedicated to the gastronomic experience. I think that this is a big step forward and allows everybody to touch our intentions, our objective, our ambition, to constantly carve society culture with our actions.'
The Chinese cluster remains volatile and back to a single-digit decline against double-digit growth in the fourth quarter and, while offshore spend amounts to 30 percent of the total, it's still positive and Chinese tourists are 'more visible in Europe,' Guerra said.
Speaking about the U.S., he said Prada 'can continue to be stable. Every week, every day is a different story, with [ongoing] changes in the region. I think that we have been opening a kind of new era for Prada in the U.S., and this is what we're trying to do. It's not easy to comment on today, to be honest, not easy at all and I think the second quarter is still complicated for Prada.'
Prada unveiled a menswear store on New York's Fifth Avenue, reflecting continuous investments in North America, Guerra said.
At Miu Miu, leather goods remained the fastest-growing category, supported by the spring 2025 campaign celebrating the brand's signature Matelassé line. Among the highlights of the quarter, the group mentioned the launch of Miu Miu Gymnasium sport-inspired pop-ups and the unveiling of the Miu Miu Custom Studio project. This, said Guerra, 'is another step forward in Miu Miu to be part of a larger and stronger community,' helping to interact with it and delivering unique products. The reaction has been very positive 'and we are very happy about it,' he enthused.
Responding to a question, Guerra was wary of talking about leather goods icons at Miu Miu. 'It's very complicated. I think that there are some spectacular, successful lines, which I hope will become icons in time. So we are nurturing them, we are cultivating them. We're working on them,' he said, citing the Wander and the Arcadie models, among others. 'We're doing our best in that I think that we are recapturing our fair market share in leather goods with Miu Miu.'
Guerra said the refurbishing and reopening of the brand's SoHo store was met with 'great success,' and that the company is 'heavily working' to expand the brand in the 2026-28 period in North America. 'The perception and request is very high, and we see it online every day.'
In February, Silvia Onofri joined Miu Miu from Napapijri, under the VF Corp. umbrella, as its new CEO.
Group sales in Asia-Pacific increased 10 percent to 438 million euros, despite a challenging comparison base and broadly unchanged market conditions in the region.
Guerra enthused about the new Miu Miu store that just opened at SKP in Wuhan, the brand's largest in China so far, which had 'an unbelievably strong first week.' The outlook is 'very positive about the long term future of the region.'
Second-half figures in China are expected to be better because comps are easier, he said, although the Chinese cluster continues to be 'volatile.' He added that he hoped 'some of the governmental policies will modify a little bit the consumer mood and allow people to spend a little bit more money and save less, but I don't see today any kind of change. Let's see.'
Europe was up 13 percent to 334 million euros, lifted by both domestic and tourist spending.
Sales in the Americas rose 11 percent to 201 million euros, despite increased volatility during the period, and boosted by local demand. 'We think the impact of a weaker dollar and recent uncertainty may be more visible going forward,' Guerra said.
Asian sourcing is extremely low and, when asked about potential price increases in the States in light of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, the 'maintenance type of increases [of around 2 to 4 percent] would be enough to compensate. But the point is, the impact that matters the most, and it's harder to quantify, is the one on consumer confidence in the mid- to long-term, on the U.S. economy,' Guerra said. 'By June, we will understand what happens with tariffs and what we need to do. We will have to do certain things on pricing, for sure, but I do not know exactly the amount today.'
Japan continued to grow and sales in the region were up 19 percent to 172 million euros, although the increase showed progressive moderation and is expected to continue, said Bonini, 'as we saw extraordinary growth over the first half of 2024 driven by local consumption, but also very, very significant touristic flows.'
The Middle East ended the quarter as the best-performing region, with retail sales up 31 percent to 70 million euros.
Thomas Chauvet at Citi said 'all stars still seem aligned for Prada.'
The analyst underscored the group was 'the fastest-growing luxury company this quarter,' beating a consensus of a 12 percent increase. However, 'it was a mixed bag between Miu Miu and Prada' as the former's growth normalization is not clearly visible yet, while Prada brand's deceleration in the quarter 'was a bit worse-than-feared,' against the toughest comparative of 2024, up 7 percent and up 4 percent in the fourth quarter.
At Bernstein, Luca Solca said the Prada brand's flat organic growth in the first quarter suggested that 'much of this weakness can be blamed on a pull-back in local spending by Chinese nationals.'
Solca believes other nationalities 'are at risk of deteriorating further' in the second quarter given the macroeconomic uncertainty and U.S. tariffs 'weighing on consumer feel-good and hence luxury spending.' With a scenario that is deteriorating, 'slowing growth at Prada and eventually Miu Miu increases the risk of operating deleverage, just as management picks up Versace in the second half, which will be another source of margin dilution.'
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