Italian fashion group Aeffe has started the current fiscal year with a revenue downturn and more losses. Aeffe, which also owns Alberta Ferretti, contemporary label Philosophy by Lorenzo Serafini and footwear brand Pollini, is feeling the brunt of the in-depth reorganisation of its leading label, Moschino. In Q1, the group recorded a revenue of €80.2 million, down by 14% at current exchange rates and by 13.4% at constant rates. Most notably, it posted a net loss of €5.6 million, as opposed to one of €0.3 million in Q1 2023.

 
Aeffe, based in San Giovanni in Marignano in central Italy, also recorded negative EBIT (minus €1.7 million) in Q1, compared to a €3.2 million profit a year earlier. EBITDA dropped sharply too, falling from €11.5 million in Q1 2023 to €6.3 million this year, a 45% downturn.
 
Massimo Ferretti, the group’s executive president, believes that these results reflect “not only the global slowdown of the wholesale market, but also the process of transformation of the Group, especially in relation to the Moschino brand.” Sales in the wholesale channel, which accounted for nearly 70% of the group’s revenue, fell in fact by 16.6% between January and March 2024. In Q1, Moschino’s revenue decreased by 11.9% at constant exchange rates, down to €59.9 million.

“The debut of the new creative stewardship of the brand, entrusted to Adrian Appiolaza, received very positive feedback which we hope to fully capitalise on with the pre-Spring 2025 collection, which will be unveiled with a co-ed show during Milan Fashion Week Men in June,” said Ferretti, who also expressed the hope “that the international instability which has characterised the last year will abate, allowing the markets that are of primary importance for our Group to bounce back.”
 
All the other labels owned by Aeffe recorded negative results in Q1. Alberta Ferretti’s revenue fell by 22.8% at constant exchange rates, down to €5.6 million, while Philosophy’s dropped by 11.3% to €5.3 million, and Pollini’s by 14.4% to €8.9 million.

Sales in Asia stable

Aeffe has also been penalised by widespread international economic instability, especially in the USA and on its domestic market, Italy. In the latter, Aeffe’s main market, accounting for 43.9% of total revenue, sales decreased by 17.6%, down to €35.2 million, with the wholesale channel losing 22% and retail sales dropping by 8%.

In the group’s second-largest market, the rest of Europe, revenue fell by 12.7% to €24 million, while in the USA it fell by 26.6%, to €4 million. Only Asia managed to post stable results, with a revenue of €17 million, virtually on par with the €17.5 million generated in Q1 2023.