Stefano Ricci: revenue soars in first half

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Oct 21, 2014

Stefano Ricci is riding high. The Italian luxury brand specialized in menswear ended its first half of 2014 with double-digit growth (+21%) at 73.5 million euros, and expects 150-155 million by the end of the year, as compared with 133 million in 2013.

Focused on high-end, 100% made in Italy products and committed to internationalization, the Florentine company, led by the Ricci family, continues to expand, apparently without being affected by the crisis. It generates 85% of its sales abroad. Even including its Italian stores, which see a great deal of tourists and businessmen, 97% of its customers are foreigners.

“We have been rewarded by our geographic diversity, which has helped us avoid the impact of the economic crisis and international conflicts. We arrived in China in 1993 and this year opened our first store in Shanghai,” said the house, which opened its first store in India in Mumbai last week, bringing the total number of its points of sale worldwide 42.

"In Greater China—our largest market with over 26% of total sales—our revenues increased by 19.7% at constant scope in the first six months of the year, while in Russia and the former Soviet bloc our sales increased by 2%," said the company. In the United States, Stefano Ricci’s sales increased by 12.5% over the same period. 

The key to the brand’s success is its focus on high level, exclusively Italian, production which it is continuously investing in (almost completely self-financed): 20 million euros between 2011 and 2013, 10 million euros this year.

"Since the company moved to Fiesole in 2012, in the hills surrounding Florence, it has continued to expand its headquarters. We are going to add 27,000 square feet to the site set aside for the production of leatherwear accessories, which account for 40% of sales," said the house. 

To reinforce its very high-end positioning and to round out its luxury lifestyle range, Stefano Ricci has diversified in recent years, with the tableware line “Royal Suite Collection”, launched in 2012, and its "yacht division”, which, for the past year, has offered custom luxury interior design services for yachts. It’s been quite the journey for the brand founded in 1972 and which started off with a line of ties…