MILAN — Aeffe’s investments in Moschino and in retail are paying off. Together with growth in the accessories category, and gains at Alberta Ferretti, they contributed to lifting the fashion group’s preliminary 2022 revenues by 8.4 percent to 352 million euros, compared with 324.6 million euros in 2021.
Aeffe’s executive chairman Massimo Ferretti expressed his satisfaction with the performance in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, “despite the uncertain macroeconomic environment.” Thanks to the contribution from all the group’s brands, sales exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
“The significant progression of retail, together with the strong development of accessories, testify to the effectiveness of the investments made to further enhance our strategic positioning,” Ferretti said. “Looking closely at the market evolution, we also aim to capitalize on the investment relating to the reorganization of the Moschino brand’s retail distribution in China, the only area that has marked a slowdown due to health restrictions.”
Aeffe comprises the Alberta Ferretti, Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini and Pollini brands, in addition to Moschino.
In 2022, ready-to-wear revenues amounted to 231.8 million euros, up 5.3 percent, while the footwear and leather goods division reported sales of 163.6 million euros, increasing 16.9 percent on 2021.
In the year, Moschino sales rose 5.8 percent; Alberta Ferretti was up 25.2 percent; Philosophy di Lorenza Serafini grew 3.3. percent, and accessories brand Pollini grew 18 percent.
The retail channel grew 22.6 percent to 88.5 million euros, boosted in particular by the Moschino direct distribution project in China initiated in 2021 that led to the opening of 23 boutiques. The stores had been operated for a decade by Scienward Fashion and Luxury (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
The benefits were recorded from the second half of 2022, despite the restrictions adopted locally to curb the COVID-19 spread.
Last year, the wholesale channel grew 4.1 percent to 248.6 million euros, representing 70.6 percent of total sales and despite the Moschino operation in China.
Royalties grew 9.5 percent to 15 million euros.
Despite the complex scenario linked to the war in Ukraine, Aeffe recorded significant growth in all its markets except the Far East, due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
Sales in Italy rose 9.4 percent to 144.6 million euros thanks to a significant recovery achieved by the retail channel, which was up 17 percent compared to 2021, and the wholesale channel grew 6 percent.
Revenues in Europe gained 11.6 percent to 117.8 million euros, accounting for 33.4 percent of the total, driven by the significant acceleration of the retail channel, up 59.3 percent.
In Asia and the Rest of the World area, sales inched down 0.5 percent to 65 million euros, representing 18.5 percent of the total. This decrease was mainly generated by the reorganization of the wholesale channel following Aeffe’s takeover of the Chinese distribution without the potential retail benefits due to the local restrictions.
As reported, Aeffe took full control of Moschino in 2021, paying 66.6 million euros for the 30 percent stake in the brand it didn’t own. It also acquired the license to produce and distribute the Love Moschino collections of women’s apparel in-house for 3.6 million euros.
Revenues in America climbed 14 percent to 24.5 million euros, representing 7 percent of the total, lifted by the strong performance of the wholesale channel, which reported a 34.1 percent increase year-on-year.
The company is going through a rationalization and corporate reorganization, which began with the merger of its subsidiary Velmar SpA.
To this end, the executive committee has proposed to the Aeffe board to evaluate a project aimed at simplifying the structure of the group’s Italian and foreign companies. This would potentially mean a merger into Aeffe of the Italian subsidiaries of Moschino, Aeffe Retail, Pollini and Pollini Retail, as well as the rationalization and merger of the companies present in foreign territories (Moschino France, Aeffe France, Fashoff U.K., Aeffe U.K., Aeffe USA, Moschino USA) with the aim to have a unique subsidiary for each foreign country.