Italian luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo (" Ferragamo ") has announced key financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2020 (ended December 31, 2020).Fourth-quarter sales fell 20.4 per cent from a year earlier (down 19.9 per cent at constant exchange rates), broadly in line with expectations.Full-year sales fell 33.5 per cent (33.4 per cent at constant exchange rates), slightly ahead of analysts' expectations.
Among Ferragamo's highlights in the fourth quarter were a 61.1 percent increase in digital channel sales, 33.9 percent growth in China and 12.9 percent growth in Taiwan.
But renewed blockades caused by the resurgence of the disease in Europe offset a strong rebound in the Chinese market.At constant exchange rates, sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region fell 34.0% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier.North American sales were down 27.5 percent from a year earlier.
At constant exchange rates, APAC (excluding Japan) sales declined 11.2% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, mainly due to the negative impact of the wholesale travel channel and the positive performance of the retail channel.Sales in Japan were down 7.4% year over year, with the retail channel showing positive results.Sales in Central and South America were down 2.5 per cent from a year earlier, with store closures affecting all markets except Mexico.
In terms of channels, retail channel sales declined 13.7% year-over-year (13.2% at constant exchange rates), with strong growth in the e-commerce channel.Wholesale channel sales were down 33.8% year-over-year (down 32.9% at constant exchange rates).
For the full year of 2020, group sales fell 33.5 per cent (33.4 per cent at constant exchange rates) to €916m, slightly above Refinitiv SmartEstimate's estimate of €911m.
In a press release, Ferragamo said: "The decrease in FY2020 sales was due to the following reasons.The disease spread rapidly, and governments subsequently decided to ban and block commercial activities and international travel.Most of the Group's stores in these countries were forced to close, and footfall in the rest of the region was also significantly reduced.This had a negative impact on results in the first six months of the year.In the second half of the year, the situation gradually improved, but was still affected by the second wave of the outbreak and related restrictions."
The Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, is the group's biggest market, accounting for more than 50 per cent of total annual sales.Full-year sales in China rose 11.3 per cent year on year.
As at 31 December 2020, the Group operated a total of 644 sales outlets, consisting of 395 directly operated stores and 249 third-party operated stores.
On January 29, Ferragamo announced that actors Lin Yun, Li Wanda and Qiu Tian (below) have become Viva ambassadors and will release the Viva blockbuster series.
Ferragamo has announced the latest changes to its board's governance structure -- the new board will be smaller, with more independent directors and a chairman with no executive power.Ferragamo, meanwhile, again denied rumours of a stake sale.Salvatore Ferragamo reshuffles board, denies seeking sale.
For the fiscal year 2020 ended December 31, 2020, Ferragamo's key financial figures are as follows:
According to the channel
Retail channel: sales decreased 29.2% to 637 million euros, or 28.6% at constant exchange rates, accounting for 69.6% of total sales;
Wholesale channel: Sales decreased 41.7% to 269 million euros, or 42.2% at constant exchange rates, accounting for 29.4% of total sales;
According to the region
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) : Sales decreased 42.5%, or 41.9%, at constant exchange rates, to 199.7 million euros, or 21.8% of total sales;
North America: Sales decreased 39.4% to 193 million euros, or 41.4% at constant exchange rates, or 21.0% of total sales;
Japan: Sales decreased 24.5 percent to 89 million euros, or 25 percent at constant exchange rates, or 9.8 percent of total sales;
Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) : Sales decreased 25.5% to 381 million euros, or 25.0% at constant exchange rates, or 41.6% of total sales;
Central and South America: Sales decreased 35.6% to 53 million euros, or 29.5% at constant exchange rates, or 5.8% of total sales;
According to the category
Footwear: Sales fell 34.9 percent to 375 million euros, or 35.0 percent at constant exchange rates, or 40.9 percent of total sales
Leather goods and handbags: Sales fell 28.1 percent to 389 million euros, or 27.9 percent at constant exchange rates, or 42.4 percent of total sales
Garments: Sales fell 32.4 per cent to €50 million, or 31.9 per cent at constant exchange rates, or 5.5 per cent of total sales
Scarves and accessories: Sales fell 38.4 percent to 51 million euros, or 37.6 percent at constant exchange rates, or 5.5 percent of total sales
Perfume: Sales fell 52.4 percent to 42 million euros, or 52.2 percent at constant exchange rates, or 4.6 percent of total sales
