Country: Italy

YOOX Net-a-Porter (YNAP), world’s leading online luxury fashion retailer, has disclosed its fourth quarter and full year sales. Its net sales during the year ending December 31, 2016 soared 17.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis to € 1.87 billion. On a reported basis, net sales however increased by 12.4 per cent to £ 1.6 billion.

Sales in the fourth quarter zoomed 11.4 per cent to £ 460 million. YNAP also recorded 28 million unique visitors last year against 26.7 million in 2015. The number of orders also increased by 18 per cent to £ 8.4 million. Lifted by sales of the luxury brand flagship stores it operates and strength in the Asia Pacific region, the company’s revenue was up to £ 1.871 billion in 2016.

In the UK, full-year revenue rose 2.3 per cent on a reported basis to € 269.9 million. During its fourth quarter, its net sales improved 19.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis to € 538 million; however, revenue from the region dropped 1.7 per cent on a reported basis to € 78.2 million during the period.

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“YNAP performed robustly throughout 2016, accelerating in the last quarter compared to the first nine months on an organic basis,” commented Federico Marchetti, Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Diesel, an Italian retail clothing company, is set to roll out a new verification tool which aims to authenticate its jeans to fight against counterfeiting by the end of the year.

The denim brand has teamed up with an Italian firm Certilogo to produce a heat-printed QR code label which will be attached to the waistband on all its denim jeans along with the writing “Scan for Authenticity”. “In a new consumer landscape driven by appreciation for high quality, we embrace the trust of our consumers, creating a direct dialogue with them. With Certilogo we will empower Diesel fans to authenticate the unique identity of our denim, making sure they shop our original products in a safe and secure way,” says Alessandro Bogliolo, Chief Executive Officer of Diesel.

Wearers will be able to either scan the code using a QR scanner with their smartphone or enter the code in the online portal (www.certilogo.com) to verify if the denim is authenticated or not.

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“This is a smart move on Diesel’s part. The relationship between brands and consumers has changed in the digital age. It’s not acceptable to say, ‘Buyer beware and good luck’ about fakes when every one of us has the technology in our pocket to stop it,” commented Michele Casucci, CEO, Certilogo.

Certilogo currently features the Certilogo QR code in brand’s 5-pocket denim, which has been used by customers in more than 70 countries around the world.

Colmar, the high-end sportswear company, has launched a new collection of ski jackets containing the Directa Plus’s graphene-based product. Directa Plus is one of the largest producers and suppliers of graphene-based products.

The new collection consists of three ski jackets that have been designed by enhancing some of Colmar’s most successful ski jacket styles, reflecting Colmar’s established fashion heritage, with the inclusion of the Company’s G+ graphene technology. The Technologic G+ jacket is padded with wadding printed with G+. The Bormio G+ jacket has an outer shell made with a membrane containing G+; and the Guaina Zeno G+ jacket has a G+ lining.

G+ enables the fabric to act as a filter between the body and the external environment, thereby ensuring the ideal temperature for the wearer. Due to the thermal conductive properties of graphene, the warmth produced by the human body is preserved and distributed evenly in cold climates, yet dispersed in warm climates, and allows an even body temperature during physical activity. In addition, fabrics treated with Graphene Plus are also electrostatic and bacteriostatic.

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It may be mentioned here that the Technologic G+ jacket was selected as a Gold Winner in the ‘Ski’ category at the recently held ISPO Munich.

Giulio Cesareo, Chief Executive Officer, Directa Plus said, “We congratulate Colmar on receiving this industry recognition. With our innovative, tailor-made solutions that have been independently certified as safe for human health and the environment, we look forward to continuing to expand our offering in the world of sportswear, and the textile industry as a whole, and significantly improving clothing performance for the benefit of athletes, professionals and sports enthusiasts.”

Group CEO, Sandro Veronesi commented, “In April we will open a Shanghai store showcasing our historic labels Calzedonia and Intimissimi. It will be our first store in (Mainland) China, part of a project for a further series of openings in the country, where Calzedonia is popular. We already have a retail presence in Hong Kong and Japan, and expansion in China will be a key step forward for our growth in Asia.”

Also Read – H&M to open 430 new stores in FY ’17

It may be noted here that the Calzedonia Group operates over 4,000 stores (about 2,400 outside Italy) and has a staff of over 32,000 employees. In 2015, its 50 per cent of consolidated revenue was generated from outside Italy. So looking at the gripping turnover, the Group is looking to expand with new stores outside Italy.

Two months ago the Group announced its first US foray. “We recently opened a pilot mono-brand store in the New York area, where in 2017 we plan to have ten stores with the Calzedonia and Intimissimi brands. We are keen to test a market where competition is very strong,” mentioned Veronesi.

Calzedonia Group owns brands like Calzedonia, Intimissimi, Tezenis, Falconeri, Signorvino and Atelier Emé.

Italy-based luxury group Tod’s has stated that its total revenue in the year 2016 fell by 3.2 per cent at current exchange rates. Sluggishness in US and Chinese markets coupled with reduced sales of leather goods as well as shoes led to revenue plunge for the group last year.

The fashion retailer said that its sales last year were Euros 1.004 billion (US $ 1.08 billion). Its same-store sales last year were down 12.2 percent at constant exchange rates.

“Sales had improved in the last quarter of the year, compared to the first nine months,” said Diego Della Valle, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer adding, “However, the early feedback of the new summer collections is positive, and this confirms (that the company) is in the right direction, with the new strategy adopted giving us good signals.”

Also Read – Tod’s reveals results for first nine months

Tod’s has numerous stores around the world, including large flagship stores in Europe, US, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Australia.