MEDIA RELEASE PR35336
Brioni Announces Consolidated Results for 2008 With Revenues Unchanged and
Profits (EBITDA) of More Than EUR32m and Names Andrea Perrone Group CEO
ROME, July 8 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -
- Brioni also Announces Plans to Expand Across China and Middle East
Brioni, the luxury menswear group, announced on Monday
consolidated 2008 revenues that were substantially unchanged, and also said
it was naming Andrea Perrone as Group Chief Executive Officer with immediate
effect.
Perrone replaces a three-person governing committee which for
the past three years has included Antonella De Simone and Antonio Bianchini
as co-managing directors, a governing structure set in place over the last 10
years.
The company produced 2008 results with revenues substantially
in line with the EUR207m recorded in 2007, and approved an ambitious
expansion plan, to include store openings across Asia and the Middle East
starting in September 2009 and running through 2010.
"We are very pleased that our business continued to do well in
2008, and we are fully aware of the challenges we will be facing in 2009,
especially in North America. But we are well positioned to face the global
economic downturn with confidence and cohesion," Perrone said.
The 39-year old Group CEO, a grandson of Brioni co-founder
Gaetano Savini, has worked his way up in the company, starting with a role
supervising the label's 1,200 tailors who hand-make Brioni suits at the
company factory in the Abruzzo region of Italy.
Perrone said Brioni produced consolidated group profits of
EUR32m at the EBITDA level on revenues of EUR200m for 2008, down only three
percent in 2008, while the sector average decline was almost in double
digits.
"In the current year we will continue to concentrate on
value-added quality production and casual wear," he said. "Maintaining our
100% 'Made in Italy' policy will not only preserve jobs at home, but also
protects our know-how and we believe it will pay ample dividends in years to
come because it preserves Brioni's excellence and exclusivity as a luxury
Italian brand."
Brioni also announced ambitious plans to expand over the next
36 months in Shanghai, Beijing and several other locations across China,
starting in September 2009. "China is a top priority for Brioni," he said,
"because the emerging Chinese business and political elite is appreciating
more and more the excellence of 'Made in Italy' products, and in luxury
menswear the quality and exclusivity of Brioni."
The company also said it would add to its already-existing
presence in Dubai and Abu Dhabi with new stores in Bahrain, Qatar and Beirut
where consumer growth would develop faster thanks to their oil-based
economies.
"We decided three years ago to plan a far-reaching commercial
strategy of creating new revenues in Asia and the Middle East, including
India, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. We are still growing in Asia
and the Middle East, and we are beginning a special drive in China," said Mr.
Perrone.
For the past 18 months Brioni has pursued an international
expansion strategy, opening new stores in Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan,
Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Indonesia, India, UAE, France, and
the United States.
The company also plans to open in Barcelona, Venice,
Dusseldorf and Hamburg as a sign of confidence in the European elite.
"Despite the recession we continue to have a loyal following among affluent
European consumers, including the German-speaking countries of Switzerland,
Germany and Austria, who are enthusiastic about Brioni's contemporary
sartorial elegance."
Source: Brioni
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