The sports and workwear specialist Uvex recorded significant sales growth last year. In the 2022/23 financial year, sales of the group, which includes the sports and workwear brands of the same name as well as the sports glasses brand Alpina, rose by 12 percent to 655 million euros, as the company based in Fürth announced on Wednesday. The company traditionally does not provide information on profits.
According to the information, the work protective clothing division contributed primarily to the growth, with sales increasing by 17.3 percent to 522 million. The business sector for sports equipment such as helmets and glasses – with brands such as Uvex and Alpina – recorded a decline in sales of 6.5 percent to 139 million euros.
Uvex cited “abrupt market saturation after the Corona hype” as well as economic and political uncertainties due to the Ukraine war, high energy prices and high inflation as the reasons for this. The winter sports sector was still doing relatively well. The growth in the area of occupational safety is primarily due to the USA market and a collaboration with the subsidiary HexArmor.
In view of ongoing uncertainties, Uvex says it would like to become even more independent of the German market in the future. For 2024, the company expects demand in the sports sector to increase again from the second half of the year. (dpa)