The Italian Moncler Group, which owns the Moncler and Stone Island brands, was able to increase its consolidated sales by 23 percent to EUR 726.4 million in the first quarter of 2023.
The sales of the Moncler brand rose by 28 percent to 604.8 million euros compared to the same period last year. The growth was primarily driven by the direct-to-consumer (DTC) business. Here the company achieved double-digit growth of 34 percent, which accelerated compared to the previous quarter.
Asia also did well, with Moncler sales up 32 percent, boosted by Chinese demand following the lifting of Covid-related restrictions, as well as very good growth in Japan and Korea.
In the EMEA region, sales growth was 29 percent, driven by both local demand and tourist purchases, the company said.
In the Americas regions, growth was nine percent, again accelerating quarter-on-quarter growth despite the large number of US tourists shopping outside the region.
With sales of EUR 121.6 million, the Stone Island brand achieved an increase of five percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Again, it was the DTC channel that performed particularly well, up 40 percent, mainly driven by the EMEA region.
There will also be a personnel change for Stone Island in June. From June 1st, former Gucci manager Robert Triefus will take over as CEO of the brand.
Commenting on the good result, Remo Ruffini, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moncler SpA said: “Both our brands experienced strong double-digit growth in the DTC channel, reflecting their very solid momentum, strong connection to consumers and excellent execution of our strategy. In the coming months, we will continue to focus on developing the three dimensions of the Moncler brand and further developing Stone Island to make our brands even stronger and more distinctive. The year has only just begun, the geopolitical context remains uncertain and the most important months are ahead, but we are ready to face them and seize new exciting opportunities.”