Italian fashion house Brunello Cucinelli has registered revenues of €620.7 million (~$686 million) in the first half (H1) of 2024, up 14.1 per cent at current exchange rates (14.7 per cent at fixed exchange rates), compared to June 30, 2023, in line with the preliminary figures released on July 11.

The first half of 2024 showed excellent results in terms of both revenue growth and margins, with Operating Income amounting to €104.6 million (~$115.7 million), up 19.3 per cent compared to €87.7 million (~$97.04 million) last year, with a margin of 16.9 per cent compared to 16.1 per cent as of June 30, 2023.

The performance in the Income Statement is characterised by the increase in First Margin, thanks to the positive contribution of the sales mix (distribution channels, geographical areas and product mix) and the expansion of internal production.

This expansion was achieved by opening manufacturing facilities to produce men's outerwear and tailored suits, within districts of excellence in artisan tailoring, such as the factory in Penne, Abruzzo in the second half of 2023 and more recently in Gubbio, Umbria, the company said in a press release.

In both locations, production has begun in leased factories, pending the completion of the construction of the new manufacturing facilities, with employee numbers due to increase further in the coming months.

This process of bringing parts of the production of exclusive and very high-quality garments in-house results in lower incidence of production costs, although these are counterbalanced by higher operating costs, mainly for staff.

“We closed the first half of 2024 with particularly pleasing results. Sales were excellent, profits were positive and balanced, the brand is fit and healthy, and the feedback on our product offering was highly favourable. We completed the 2024 summer sales very successfully, and the winter sales were off to a very good start. All of this leads us to confirm our guidance of a revenue growth for FY 2024 of around 10 per cent, with healthy and sustainable profits,” Brunello Cucinelli, executive chairman and creative director of the Casa di Moda, said.

“We are also particularly pleased with the presentation to the world press of our new company website in July in Milan, after three years of work. This site was built together with Artificial Intelligence. We devised a website without pages, where the content flows and combines in front of the visitor, thanks to a technology that seeks to understand and follow the users’ intent, creating what they see on the spot. We have named this technology Solomei AI. We believe this new website is truly very special, also thanks to the endorsement we have received from our friends in the AI world,” added Cucinelli.

The high quality of the revenues in the first half of the year, the business performance, the very decent sales the company is reporting, and the punctuality of shipments can fully confirm planned revenue growth for 2024 of approximately 10 per cent, with healthy and balanced profits.