ITALY. Eyewear group Safilo has released its preliminary full-year results, which show net sales reaching €1,023.9 million, down by -2.4% year-on-year at constant exchange rates (-4.9% at current exchange rates) from the €1,076.7 million registered in 2022.
Adjusted EBITDA sales margin fell to around 9% from 9.4% recorded in 2022.
In a statement, Safilo said: “Revenues for the year were therefore quite close to those recorded in 2022, despite the headwinds represented by the continuing weakness of the North American market, and the over -60% drop in revenues recorded in the former GrandVision chains.”
The company’s Q4 revenues were described as the best performance of the year, with net sales reaching €238.7 million, a year-on-year increase of +1.7 at constant exchange rates (-2.7% at current exchange rates).
The company attributed its overall sales improvement to its own brands, with Carrera and Polaroid recording a strong performance for the second straight year.
Blenders also saw its sales recover after the post-pandemic normalisation phase of sales in it ecommerce business.
Smith continued to be among the leading brands in its portfolio with an “excellent development” in the direct-to-consumer channel, marking the brand’s return to progress in the second half of the year. The growth is attributable to the weak sales in physical stores in the sports products segment.
Safilo said its licensed business also contributed to its annual sales, with established eyewear collections and addition of new licenses.
The company noted that its Boss and Tommy Hilfiger collections further became key reference points in the eyewear sector in 2023, while recently acquired licenses Carolina Herrera and one of its core brands David Beckham posted double-digit growth.
By region, the strongest sales growth was recorded in North America, followed by Europe, and Asia Pacific. ✈
