By Manuela Mesco
MILAN--Italian fashion firm Prada SpA said Sunday its sales fell
slightly in 2014 compared with the previous year, marking a halt to
double-digit growth rates seen in previous years.
Sales for the year ending January 2015 stood at EUR3.5 billion
($3.98 billion), down 1% compared with 2013. In 2013 and 2012 sales
growth was 9% and 29%, respectively.
Prada's sales decline reflects a trend in the industry as luxury
megabrands moved away from the stellar growth rates seen up to
2012. Kering, for example, said that Gucci's revenue in 2014
contracted nearly 2% on the year. Gucci had recorded revenue growth
of 17% for 2010. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is trying to
revive interest in its flagship fashion brand Louis Vuitton after
sales were nearly flat in 2013 after years of 10%-plus growth.
The luxury-goods sector has been hurt by a weaker China market
after the government there began cracking down on corruption and
gift-giving. Economic weakness in Europe has also weighed on the
houses' financial performance.
Prada Chief Executive Patrizio Bertelli said in a statement that
his company's stalled growth was the result of a
more-complex-than-thought geopolitical and monetary environment but
added that this won't affect the company's medium- and long-term
targets.
Sales in the Asia-Pacific region fell 7% compared with the
previous year, affected by weakness in Hong Kong and Macau, where
performance deteriorated significantly in the second half of the
year, the Hong Kong-listed company said.
Prada's namesake brand, which accounts for more than 80% of
overall revenue, saw sales fall nearly 2% on the year compared with
a 32% rise in 2013. Sales at Miu Miu, Prada's smaller and more-edgy
fashion brand, rose 4%, increasing in all markets except Europe,
the company said.
The group's growth in the American, Middle-East and Japanese
markets--where sales rose 7%, 9% and 13%, respectively--wasn't
enough to offset the decline in Asia.
European sales were down slightly as fewer tourist visitors and
weak domestic demand weighed on the company's performance.
Write to Manuela Mesco at manuela.mesco@wsj.com
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