PRESS RELEASE | PARIS, APRIL 23 2024
Fiparin has acquired stock participation in two of the leading European fashion market leaders, Moncler and Hugo Boss.
Hugo Boss, with average sales of €1.993 billion (Q1 2023) and EBITDA of €346 million, and Moncler, with average total sales ranging €1.137 billion for the same period and EBITDA of €380m, join our most recent strategic investments in fast growing, promising fashion sectors.
Moncler acquired recently Stone Island, a growing Italian brand owned by the Ruffini family holding company, who holds a 16.5 percent stake in Double R, which in turn has a 23.7% stake in Moncler. Singapore state investor Temasek said last month it would exit Double R and become a direct shareholder in the luxury group. Temasek and Rivetti’s family, through their financial vehicles, have a direct stake of around 4% each in Moncler, a company with a market valuation of around 17.6 billion euros ($19.1 billion).
For Q1 2024, prospects for Moncler have been high, with an organic growth year-on-year of 16%, while other brands have underperformed due to the slowing demand for high-end brands.
Hugo Boss AG, based in Germany, for 2023 reported currency-adjusted group sales rising 18% and reported sales grew 15% to that record level of €4.197 billion, topping the €4 billion threshold for the first time. EBIT rose a larger 22% to €410 million. That came as the EBIT margin jumped 60 basis points to 9.8%. For the year ahead, sales are predicted to grow more slowly (between 3% and 6%) to reach €4.3 billion to €4.45 billion. As with the previous year, EBIT growth should outstrip that with a rise of 5% to 15% to a range between €430 million and €475 million. And the EBIT margin should improve further to between 10% and 10.7%.
Boss’s outperformance in FY23 was spread across all regions, with Asia Pacific seeing the strongest currency-adjusted revenue growth of 32%. The Americas were also strong, especially given the general slowdown in consumer spending in the region, with sales up by 23% as the revamp of its two brands resonated with consumers. EMEA was weakest but still rose 13%. Meanwhile the smaller Hugo brand grew 19.8% last year while Boss was up 14.1%. But within Boss, its womenswear jumped 20.5%, compared to 13.5% for menswear.
The company committed to, in 2024, to build on the regained strength of Boss and Hugo and further drive brand relevance. Having successfully anchored its position in consumers’ minds in recent years, going forward, it will put even more emphasis on fostering engagement with consumers, aiming to retain their loyalty in the long term. This means it will continue to invest into compelling brand-building initiatives and enhance its product offerings to fortify the brands’ 24/7 lifestyle images. The recent launch of the two label’s SS24 collections, including the launch of Hugo Blue, thereby marks the next chapter along the company’s CLAIM 5 journey.
Part of the strategy will be the further rollout of the latest Boss and Hugo store concepts with more than 200 stores renovated globally so far. It’s also putting a particular focus on driving digitalization and leveraging the power of artificial intelligence along its global sourcing, production, and logistics activities.