However, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the Danish footwear group has been criticized by the country’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, for continuing to operate in Russia.
Russia faced increased sanctions from Western countries after the invasion and many Western brands withdrew from the country. Despite this, the Danish group had invested heavily in Russia with the acquisition in February 2020 of its Russian distributor Ecco Ros, after nearly 30 years of collaboration.
Ecco previously indicated that pulling out of Russia would impact its business and employment.
“A core value in our culture is that we take care of our employees. It’s central to us and it’s the main reason why we stay in Russia,” Mytaros said in an interview with the daily Berlingske in March 2023.
Mytaros became CEO in August of 2021, succeeding Steen Borgholm, who stepped down after four years in the job and over two decades with the Danish footwear company. Mytaros himself had been working for 27 years with Ecco when he took the helm.
Gøgsig joined the group in 2012 as head of research at Ecco Leather in the Netherlands. He obtained several promotions since and became a member of Ecco’s managing board in 2021.
In 2023, Ecco’s net revenues declined by 1 percent to €1,571 million from €1,586 million a year earlier. At constant currency rates, the top line grew by 6.5 percent.
Sales from the footwear business slipped slightly to €1,409 million in 2023 from €1,419 million the previous year. Net revenues for accessories fell to €56.9 million from €57.5 million and turnover for the leather segment slumped to €70.9 million from €103.8 million.
By geographical region, combined net revenues for shoes and accessories totaled €654.7 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, down from €694.4 million a year earlier, rose to €251.0 million from €248.6 million in North America, grew to €414.5 million from €392.7 million in Greater China and advanced to €146.0 million from €141.0 million in the rest of Asia Pacific.
By sales channel, Ecco saw wholesale revenues rise to €615.3 million in 2023 from €601.5 million in 2022. Retail and e-commerce sales grew to €884.3 million from €880.4 million.
The profit before amortization and depreciation increased by 11 percent to €191.5 million and the pretax profit improved to €90.0 million from €88.2 million. Nevertheless, the profit for the year slipped to €47.0 million from €48.7 million a year earlier due to higher taxes.
The cash flow from operating activities increased to €127.5 million from €43.1 million in the prior year.
The group reduced its net investments by 33 percent in 2023 to €43.2 million.
In the guidance released with its financial report, Ecco forecast net sales of €1.65 billion to €1.75 billion in 2024 with profit before amortization and depreciation in the range €210 million to €230 million and a significant increase in operating cash flow.
The group had more than 2,200 shops around the world at the end of 2023. It operates four tanneries and six shoe factories.
