The shirt manufacturer Olymp wants to reach the pre-corona level again next year. The classic shirt got particularly bad during the pandemic, said Managing Director Mark Bezner of the German Press Agency. As a result, sales have come under pressure. Business was now going in the right direction again. The company must now work to return to 2019 levels as quickly as possible. “I hope we get there next year,” Bezner said. That will not be possible this year, the upheavals are still too great for that.
With the department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof and the fashion retailer Peek & Cloppenburg, two of the most important customers are currently in protective shield proceedings. Olympus will suffer from the closures at Galeria. In addition, there is still a very tense consumption situation.
No satisfactory results during the pandemic
The family business is reluctant to raise prices in view of increased costs. Olymp had to implement moderate price adjustments, said Bezner. “But we have deliberately left many products at the price level.” The company is driven by quantities that need to be defended. If the shirt costs more, then that leads to fewer units sold. “It’s a bit of a vicious circle,” Bezner said.
With a view to the result, Olymp wants to achieve the return spheres of 2019 again. Satisfactory results have not been achieved during the pandemic, Bezner said. However, the results were not negative. The company traditionally does not provide more detailed information on earnings. Bezner also declined to comment when asked. It is important to become reasonably profitable again in a timely manner. A margin that makes it possible to make investments and shape the future independently is satisfactory.
The company from Bietigheim-Bissingen (Ludwigsburg district) recorded sales of 227 million euros in 2022, after 161 million euros in the previous year. Business collapsed during the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, the proceeds were still 268 million euros.
The consequences of the corona pandemic and the Russian attack on Ukraine have left their mark on the German clothing industry. Sales in the fashion industry increased by around 20 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, as the fashion association GermanFashion reported in March. However, the level of 2019 has not yet been reached. Trading partner difficulties and cost increases kept sentiment at a depressed level for this year. (dpa)