Safilo Group turnover rises 7.8% to €605.4m in H1

25 Jul '06

4 min read

Italy - The domestic market continues to register positive results, with a 9.2% increase in the semester and an 8.3% increase in the second quarter compared to 2005. The 2006 collections were very well received in Italy, leading to the achievement of excellent results for both sunglasses (+6.8%) and prescription frames (+14.3%). The brands which have contributed most to the achievement of these results are Armani, Gucci, Valentino and the house brands Safilo and Oxydo.

Europe (excluding Italy) - During the first six months of the year Europe has had to deal with the customer service issues which emerged at the beginning of the year and which have lead to a slight fall in sales (- 2.6%). The greater production levels, however, together with a greater focus on deliveries to European clients have allowed a positive result to be achieved in the second quarter of the year (+3.7%). The sale of sunglasses has been the driving force behind the improvement achieved, with, from a geographical point of view, good results in Germany (+13.1%) and Great Britain (+11.9%). In terms of growth per brand, the brands Armani, Diesel, Dior, Valentino and the house brands Safilo, Blue Bay and Oxydo should be highlighted.

The Americas - The American market has again confirmed the growth trend evident in the first quarter of 2006 with an increase in sales in the second quarter of 13.3%.These results have been achieved despite this area being more greatly penalised by the reduction in sales of the Ralph Lauren brand. Growth in sales in department stores and sports outlets has been significant, while the brands Armani, Dior, Gucci, Valentino and, in the sports sector the house brand Smith, have enjoyed particularly impressive results. Excellent results have been achieved by the sales division Outlook with an increase of 11.3% in the first six months of the year, and by the retail chain Solstice (+42.1% in the first six months) which, at June 30, 2006, counted 68 stores (13 of which were opened in the second quarter alone).

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