Sales Of Bottega Veneta Will Begin To Revive, And Garment Business Will Be Vigorously Developed.

The French luxury giant Kering, Italy's luxury brand Bottega Veneta, seems to be on the brink of a revival.

Over the past three years, sales of Bottega Veneta have been declining, but in the fourth quarter of 2018, the downturn eased and sales fell by only 3.2%.

Thanks to the brand renovation plan of the new creative director, it is expected that sales of Bottega Veneta will start to recover from the second half of 2019.

The key financial data for Bottega Veneta in 2018 are as follows:

Sales fell 5.7% to 1 billion 109 million euros, down 3.4% from the same exchange rate.

Operating profit fell 17.7% to 242 million euros, and the operating profit margin was 21.8%.

Direct store sales fell 4.7% year-on-year, mainly due to the decline in the number of Western European tourists.

Tourism consumption in Europe accounts for 28% of total Bottega Veneta revenue.

Wholesale channel sales increased by 2.8% over the same period last year.

Fourth quarter sales fell 3.2% year-on-year

In 2001, when Bottega Veneta was bought by Kai Yun group, it grew very rapidly. It maintained a two digit growth from 2005 to 2015, and sales exceeded 1 billion euros.

But since 2015, sales growth has slowed sharply due to the high price positioning, the high cold brand image, the obvious dependence on Asian customers, the low degree of product diversification and the lack of innovation vitality, and sales have continued to decline since the fourth quarter of 2015.

In order to reverse the situation, Kai Yun group in September 2016 appointed the German fashion group Hugo Boss former CEO Claus-Dietrich Lars as the new chief executive officer.

In June 2018, Daniel Lee, the design director of C e line former garment designer, was appointed as the new creative director instead of the Tomas Maier who was responsible for the brand for 17 years.

After taking office, Daniel Lee began to reshape the brand image of Bottega Veneta.

The Instagram account of Bottega Veneta is emptied and reset. Under the supervision of Daniel Lee, the new photos taken by Tyrone LeBon for advertising activities show a more relaxed and natural mood, which is far from the perfect female image style of Tomas Maier.

While loyal to the brand's advanced luxury and handicraft expertise, Daniel Lee has injected a kind of non picky but sensual style. After the spring exhibition in 2019, this style has been well received by consumers.

"Whether it is word of mouth or sales, this brand remolding feedback is very good.

There is a high demand for such creative styles, while other brands do not have much in this regard at present.

This is a real opportunity for Bottega Veneta. "

Fran ois-Henri Pinault, chairman of Kai Yun group, said: "the creativity of Daniel Lee will enable us to enhance brand awareness, especially by expanding the garment series to enhance attractiveness, which will lead to the growth of other product categories."

The most important investment of Bottega Veneta in 2018 is focused on the store network. It improves customer experience and brand awareness by opening new stores, refurbishing stores and launching major business activities.

Last December, Bottega Veneta opened a 6 story, 800 square meter flagship store in 5-6-1, Tokyo's Central Plaza, Ginza.

In addition, the brand store will also announce a new interior design concept this year.

After the restructuring in 2018, although the extra cost brought by the brand restructuring has led to a sharp decline in the operating profit of the brand, the sales decline of Bottega Veneta has begun to narrow.

Fran? Ois-Henri Pinault said that in the future, the marketing focus of the brand should be shifted from leather goods to women's clothing. The goal is to pform Bottega Veneta into a global brand of women's clothing and leather goods.

Kai Yun group hopes to learn from its other main brands, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent and Gucci (Gucci)'s successful marketing program. The image of Gucci's strong and high recognition is created by the creative director, Alessandro Michele, from ready-made clothes.

Fran? Ois-Henri Pinault said: "clothing is the most creative product category, and is the source of brand attractiveness, which contains brand image and story.

Even though the share of garments in the total revenue is relatively small, clothing is undoubtedly a very valuable and very important category from the brand image and customer loyalty.

At present, leather products account for 84% of total sales of Bottega Veneta, 6% of garments, 7% of footwear, and 3% of other products.

The proportion of ready-made garments will be increased to 15% in the future.

Fran? Ois-Henri Pinault predicts that the Bottega Veneta brand positioning adjustment work will get "great results" in the medium term.

"The profitability of Bottega Veneta will not improve immediately in 2019," said Duplaix, chief financial officer of Bottega Veneta.

As the first batch of new series in February will be launched later this year, sales are expected to resume from the second half of this year. "

Author: Jin Daiqian