Lanvin Group sales rise 6.4% in H1

Global luxury fashion brand Lanvin Group has reported a 6.4% increase in revenues to €215m (£182.7m) for H1 2023. It also achieved a gross profit of €125m (£107.1m), up from €113m (£96.85m) the prior year. The fashion retailer said that it was on track to achieve adjusted EBITDA breakeven in FY24 as its gross profit margin also improved to 58.5% and contribution profit margin was up 6.9% to €15m (£12.8m). However, Adjusted EBITDA fell to -€41m (£35.14m) versus -€36m (£30.85m) for H1 2022, mainly driven by lower revenues at Lanvin, and the resulting reduction in cost absorption. Group revenues increased in all channels and geographies over the period, with Greater China growing by 13.9%, EMEA by 5.3%, and North America was up 2.6%. Outside Greater China, Asia grew 27.1%. The group said that flagship brand Lanvin utilised the first half to transition its creative direction and establish its future. As a result, Lanvin’s revenues decreased from €64m (£54.85m) in H1 2022 to €57m (£48.85m) in H1 2023. On the other hand, Woldford’s, Sergio Rossi’s, St John’s and Caruso’s revenue increased to €59m (£50.57m), €33m (£28.28m), €47m (£40.28m) and €20m (£17.14m) respectively. Looking ahead, the group said it expects to maintain momentum into the second half of 2023 and continue its margin improvement. It also anticipates a strong second half as it has new marketing initiatives, design collaborations, and collection launches planned. Lastly, the group said it plans to focus on topline revenue, and with its store network rationalised and operating expenses stabilised, it expects to drive its operating leverage to achieve break even adjusted EBITDA in 2024. Joann Cheng, chairman and CEO of Lanvin Group, said: "We continue our track record of global growth while we make progress on our path to profitability. Our improvement in gross profit and contribution profit are evidence of our commitment to securing profitable growth. We have done the groundwork for our brands to accelerate their growth and are excited about our prospects for the remainder of 2023. "At the top line, we grew group revenues across all our key markets with Sergio Rossi growing sales by 22.4% and Wolford growing 8.4%, especially after the hiring of Nao Takekoshi as its creative director. We also made several strategic reorganisation decisions with respect to Lanvin which had an expected short-term impact in the first half of 2023. We believe we have now placed Lanvin in a much stronger position and look forward to seeing the results of these decisions, such as a new collection from our first Lanvin Lab guest designer, the Grammy-winning artist, Future."