Demand for luxury goods defies downturn as label's profits treble
If the world is tightening its belt, then it's made
of luxurious Italian leather. Profits at fashion house Prada have
trebled so far this year, boosted by sales of luxury items in Asian and
American markets.
Rising unemployment and a crisis in the eurozone,
not least in the label's home of Italy, have not affected the world's
appetite for staggeringly expensive handbags and leather boots and
shoes.
All four of the Prada Group's labels have
contributed to the rise: Prada, Miu Miu, traditional British shoemaker
Church's and designer moccasin makers Car Shoe.
Church's were among a number of high-profile
acquisitions in the 1990s which left the company €1bn in debt. But
Prada's attempt to increase revenue by expanding its network of shops
has paid dividends.
It marks a significant step
in the extraordinary journey of the company since it was taken over in
1978 by Miuccia Prada, now 61, granddaughter of Mario Prada, who opened
the first Prada store in 1913, a leather goods shop in Milan.
Miuccia Prada's husband, Patrizio Bertelli, an
Italian who had begun his own leather goods business at the age of 17,
joined the company shortly after meeting Ms Prada in the late 1970s, and
is now its chief executive. He has been at the heart of the company's
drive to become a big player in the global fashion world.
Prada
hopes to list on the stock market next year with Hong Kong rumoured to
be the most likely centre, close to the Asian consumers which are
driving its recent surge in profits.
China, in
particular, has been the centre of Prada's commercial renaissance. There
are estimated to be more than 130 US dollar billionaires in China at
the latest count and hundreds of thousands of Chinese millionaires.
"The
data confirms that the retail network expansion is a winning strategy.
These excellent results let us confidently look at the oncoming group's
development," said Mr Bertelli in a statement.
Sales
were said by the firm to have risen by 31 per cent to €1.38bn in the
last nine-month period. Europe and the United States have contributed to
growth, but in the Asian market sales have risen 51 per cent, the most
significant element in the firm's success.
Prada's
status as a major global brand was enhanced by the 2006 movie The Devil
Wears Prada, which was based on the notorious Vogue editor Anna Wintour
and celebrated the fashion industry's love of corporate excess.
English
actress Carey Mulligan was also wearing a strapless jet-black Prada
gown when she lost out to Sandra Bullock at this year's Academy Awards
in Los Angeles.
No comments:
Post a Comment