Italian brand Geox's sales surge to €353.6 mn in H1 FY23

Contrarily, franchising channel sales, representing 7.8 per cent of the group's sales, decreased by 4.6 per cent to €27.6 million. Despite a marginal increase in comparable sales (up 0.7 per cent), this channel experienced a hit from the postponement effect of previous seasons and the negative perimeter effect. The number of franchised shops declined from 301 in June 2022 to 288 in June 2023.

Sales from directly operated stores (DOS), making up 39.7 per cent of the group's sales, slipped by 2.2 per cent to €140.2 million. However, comparable sales increased by 2.9 per cent, with physical shops noting a growth of 4.7 per cent. Online sales dropped by 4.9 per cent, but the direct online channel experienced a high growth rate of 47.8 per cent compared to 2019. The number of DOS reduced from 337 in June 2022 to 277 in June 2023, impacting the channel's overall revenue.

Geographically, Italy led the sales with a 6.6 per cent increase to €98.8 million, boosted by a 25.8 per cent growth in the wholesale channel. However, sales in Europe, contributing 42.1 per cent to the group's sales, declined by 5.6 per cent to €149 million, largely due to the underperformance of the wholesale channel. North America recorded a marginal sales increase of 0.4 per cent to €13.6 million, driven by wholesale channel growth (up 21.2 per cent). Other countries reported a sales growth of 20.4 per cent, with a notable 50.1 per cent surge in the Asia Pacific region.

In terms of product category, footwear, accounting for 91.8 per cent of consolidated sales, saw a rise of 5.4 per cent to €324.8 million. Apparel, contributing 8.2 per cent, suffered an 11.1 per cent decline to €28.8 million, primarily due to a product shortage caused by a fire in September last year.

"First half of 2023 results show growth primarily driven by a solid wholesale order portfolio related to the spring/summer collection. The good performance was partially offset by a slowdown observed in May, which was affected by bad and unusual weather conditions. This had a negative impact on sales in our stores and cooled in-season reorders by wholesale channel in our key markets,” said Mario Moretti Polegato, founder and president of Geox.

The cost of sales stood at 49 per cent, down from 52.7 per cent in H1 FY22, yielding a gross margin of 51 per cent. This improvement is largely due to stabilising supply chain conditions and decreasing average discounts in direct stores.

Geox also announced a positive EBIT of €3.6 million, a significant recovery from the minus €11 million recorded in H1 FY22.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)