Valentino is recovering its revenue through its accessories and repositioning itself to keep its “most affirmed Italian maison de couture” ideals. That’s what the brand’s CEO, Jacopo Venturini, said, after having aimed all questions of a potential sale or IPO to the brand’s owner (Qatar fund Mayhoola). At the same time, he showcased the development plans for the brand that manufactures everything in Italy.
Valentino is recovering its revenue
After the 28% decrease in revenue (for a value of 882 million euro) and a difficult 2020, which closed with 127 million euro in losses, Valentino had 574 million euro in sales during the first half of 2021, up by 64% and close to the levels of 2019. Accessories were the driving force behind the recovery, with menswear also growing and now accounting for 20% of sales, the same value of e-commerce (which doubled in size over the period). Middle East, USA and China did the rest. Mr. Venturini also repeated that the entire production process is done in Italy and that Valentino created some joint ventures to make shoes and footwear. “We have a good structure”, said the CEO according to WWD.
Development plans
“It’s very important to have Valentino under one single label: it’s always been the endgame”, explained Venturini. The shutdown of Red Valentino should be completed in two years. The manager also pointed out how it’s an advantage to be small (in the luxury segment), because it allows the brand to grow in a solid manner, according to its values and culture. Another strategy implemented, always focused on repositioning the brand, is the cutting of wholesales.
Cutting wholesales
Venturini’s objective is to make retail worth 70% of total sales over the next five years (from the current 55% share). This will likely call for an increment in number of physical stores, or even pop-ups. China remains at the center of it all, as the brand currently manages 27 retail points and 5 in franchising. “We are still under underexposed and have strong potential to grow in China”, closed Mr. Venturini.
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