Prada is fast recovering from the impact of the pandemic, with its retail sales in December reaching back to 2019 levels, the Italian luxury fashion house announced yesterday.
While the company saw the closure of 9 percent of its brick and mortar locations last year, it benefitted from an uptick in demand during the second half of 2020, which was seen across all geographic areas. Recovery in the Asia-Pacific region was particularly strong, with sales in China climbing up by 52 percent. The Asia Pacific region accounted for 44 percent of total sales (€370 million) in the first half of the year.
In the second half, the luxury retailer benefited from growth in demand in the Americas, the Middle East and Russia.
“I am very satisfied with how we have faced the serious difficulties of the year just ended and how, despite the persistent uncertainty which will likely continue for the next months, we have managed to deliver positive results,” said Prada’s Chief Executive Officer Patrizio Bertelli. “Thanks to the generous commitment of all group staff, we were able to respond rapidly and consistently to market changes, which has been appreciated by all of our customers.”
Prada’s path to recovery was a result of careful management of quality and product mix, according to Bertelli. The company continued to move away from relying on wholesale channels to have stricter control over its inventory and brand positioning, Footwear News reported. The company also focussed on tightly managing its stocks and raw materials as well as its finished products.
“Values will change and how products will be distributed will also change, but the market is growing not declining. I think the strategy we are pursuing — to place the group in the high-end, luxury bracket — will allow us to achieve the contribution margins [we want],” Bertelli said.