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MILAN, Italy — Salvatore Ferragamo SpA's second-quarter revenue growth is in line with the first quarter's, justifying the Italian luxury-goods maker's outlook for 2013 earnings growth, Chief Executive Officer Michele Norsa said.
“Growth continues to be sustained,” Norsa said in an interview today before the Florence, Italy-based company’s men’s fashion show in Milan. North America “continues to give positive signals” and demand has picked up in Japan with consumers there buying more as the yen weakens.
Ferragamo sales rose 8.6 percent in the first quarter, or 9.6 percent excluding currency shifts.
Competitors including LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA and Kering SA-owned Gucci in April reported the weakest quarterly sales growth in more than three years as demand softened in Europe and Asia. Worldwide sales of luxury goods will increase as much as 5 percent this year, about the same as in 2012, Bain & Co. estimates.
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While Ferragamo hasn’t imposed significant price increases in Japan, it will do so slightly for new collections to narrow the disparity with other markets, Norsa said.
“Clients are very attentive to pricing trends,” the CEO said. “They buy where it’s convenient.”
By: Andrew Roberts; Editors: Sheldon Reback, Randall Hackley
