OTB, the international fashion and luxury group that powers brands, including Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni, Viktor&Rolf, the Staff International and Brave Kid companies, and holds a minority investment in the Amiri brand, presented its consolidated financial statement as at 31st December 2021.
SEE ALSO: H&M sales lift six percent in 2021
2021 was a year of important growth marking a turning point for the entire OTB group, which returned to pre-pandemic turnover levels and reported significant improvements in earnings and margins. The financial year closed with turnover of 1,530 million euro (US$ 1.73 billion) (excluding other non-recurring revenues of 130 million euro (US$ 147 million)), an increase of 16.2 percent from 2020 and in line with 2019. Net profit was 142 million euro (US$ 161 million), up by 141 million euro (US$ 160 million) from 2020 and by 140 million euro (US$ 159 million) from 2019. Net sales amounted to 1,456 million euro (US$ 1.65 billion), an increase of 18 percent from 2020 driven by the luxury business (Marni, Maison Margiela, Jil Sander and Viktor&Rolf).
Group EBITDA, net of non-recurring items, was 258 million euro (US$ 293 million) (+47 percent from 2020 and +36 percent from 2019). Group EBIT, net of non-recurring items, reached 94 million euro (US$ 106 million) (an increase of 80 million euro (US$ 90.8 million) from 2020 and 76 million euro (US$ 86.3 million) from 2019), arising from contributions from all the brands and the consolidation of the structural measures that began in 2020 and continued in 2021.
All the brands in the OTB luxury business reported solid growth with respect to both 2020 and 2019, outperforming the pre-pandemic levels with improvements of 49 percent from 2020 and 55 percent from 2019. Key events in 2021 included the closing of the acquisition of 100 percent of Jil Sander in April. Thanks to the brand’s global prestige, the transaction enabled OTB to improve its positioning in the luxury sector. The intensive work and synergies formed with the Group, together with significant turnover growth, led Jil Sander to reach operating break-even and generate cash in just nine months.
Among the geographical regions, the best performance was reported in the Asia Pacific area and in North America, while the online distribution channel consolidated its position within the group.
The Asia Pacific region confirmed its position as a strategic market for the Group. Investments were increased in China, where OTB now has 80 monobrand stores in 16 cities, a number that will double over the next three years. In March 2022, a new retail project is scheduled to open in the JC Plaza shopping mall in Shanghai, which will house Maison Margiela, Jil Sander, Marni and Amiri stores. The two-storey street-front retail spaces will feature interactive display areas, where brand enthusiasts will be able to enjoy an immersive experience and engage with the spirit, values and philosophy of each brand. OTB also opened a subsidiary in South Korea to provide direct management and development of an area with significant growth potential. It continued to consolidate its growth in Japan, which remains one of the Group’s most important markets globally, accounting for around a quarter of aggregate turnover.
SEE ALSO: Richemont sales in APAC soar 23 percent on last year
Given its results, OTB Group – which recently finalised its 2022-2024 strategic plan – confirms its ambitious organic growth targets. Growth is one of the key points of a development path that could lead the Group to consider a potential opening to the capital market.