The chief executives of Moncler and Kering have both denied press speculation about a possible acquisition of the Italian brand of luxury outerwear by the parent company of Gucci, Saint Laurent and other luxury goods brands, which spun off Puma two years ago. Indicating that there were no concrete plans about the sale of his company to another group, Moncler’s CEO, Remo Ruffini denied any relationship between such plans and a proposed loyalty share scheme that would allow him to increase his voting rights in the company from 19.6 percent to 29 percent.
Meanwhile, Moncler reported an increase in net income of 9 percent to €361.5 million for the financial year ended on Dec. 31, 2019, and the gain amounted to 16 percent on a comparable tax basis. It scored a somewhat higher Ebitda margin of 35.3 percent on consolidated revenues of €1,627.7 million. The margin after depreciation and amortization (Ebit) remained high at 29.2 percent of sales – just below the margin of 30.1 percent attained by Kering last year. Moncler ended the year with more than €700 million in net cash.
Sales went up by 13 percent at constant exchange rates and by 15 percent in euros. In Italy, revenues rose by 10 percent, boosted by a 21 percent gain in the fourth quarter and largely driven by its network of mono-brand retail stores and its e-commerce. In the rest of the EMEA region, they grew by 14 percent at constant and current exchange rates, driven by the U.K., Germany and France. Austria, Switzerland, the Benelux countries and the Nordics also recorded double-digit growth. Like Italy, this part of the world registered a strong acceleration in the fourth quarter, with an increase of 19 percent.
In Asia and the rest of the world, revenues went up last year by 13 percent in local currencies and by 16 percent at current exchange rates. China continued to lead the growth, followed by Korea. In the Americas, revenues grew by 11 percent on a currency-neutral basis and by 16 percent in euros, with very good results in all distribution channels and markets, according to the company.
The direct-to-consumer channel generated revenues of €1,256.9 million, representing 77 percent of the total turnover and growing a little faster than the wholesale channel. Sales rose by 13 percent in local currencies and by 16 percent in euros, thanks to 7 percent higher same-store sales, further development of the network of directly operated mono-brand retail stores and doubled growth in e-commerce. As of Dec. 31, 2019, it consisted of 209 stores, 16 more than a year earlier, with 10 of them opened in the fourth quarter. Moncler is planning to open its first stores in Spain and Ukraine this year.
The wholesale channel recorded revenues of €370.8 million, up by 10 percent at constant exchange rates and by 11 percent at current exchange rates, with growth being driven by the expansion of Moncler’s network of shop-in-shops, whose number increased by nine units to a total of 64.
Moncler says it has suffered a decline of around 80 percent in its sales in the Chinese markets over the past few weeks as the coronavirus outbreak impacted its business in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. The company closed 14 stores in China, or one-third of its local retail fleet, and the others saw a steep decline in customer traffic. Five department stores in Korea have closed their Moncler corners.
The situation has led Moncler to re-direct merchandise from its Chinese stores to its European stores. The company has also decided to postpone planned investments in new retail stores and marketing in China to the second half of this year.
