The board of directors of Ermenegildo Zegna Group, world leading brand of luxury menswear, has approved its consolidated financial statements for 2011, which close with sales of €1.127 billion (+ 17% at current exchange rates), Ebitda of €233 million (20.7% of sales against 14.6% in 2010), net profits of €115 million and a positive net financial position of €245 million.China continues to be the main market in terms of the Group’s retail sales (+ 28%) but the US market also continued to grow (+ 16%). Europe saw positive results on the whole, with sales in Germany, France and Italy up.
Exports again accounted for over 90% of sales, with Asia generating half of this.
At the end of 2011 there were 557 mono brand stores of which 311 fully owned. Around 50 new openings are scheduled for 2012, of which a third in China, though also in Europe and America. There is a new focus on Africa, where stores will be opened for the first time in Morocco and Nigeria, reflecting Zegna Group’s pioneering spirit.
The board of directors voted a proposal by the Honorary Chairman, Angelo Zegna, to pay a €1,000 bonus to each of the over 7,000 Zegna Group employees. The proposal was based on the achievement of sales of €1 billion in 2011 and is intended to round off the Centennial initiatives.
It was announced during the meeting that Ms Jing Ulrich, J.P. Morgan’s Chairman of Global Markets, China, has joined the Zegna board as an independent director. Educated at Harvard and Stanford Universities, Ms Jing Ulrich is one of the most prominent advisors to the world’s largest asset management companies and multinational corporations. Fortune and Forbes magazines have ranked Ms Ulrich among the most powerful global businesswomen. With in-depth knowledge of the consumer market in Asia, Ms Ulrich will contribute significantly to Zegna’s expansion in the region.
“The objective I set myself, before the crisis that started in 2008, of topping sales of €1 billion by the time of our Centennial,” said CEO Ermenegildo Zegna, “was achieved thanks the position of strength we have gained in the meantime, despite the alarming volatility that still to a certain extent characterizes the global economy. Our income, financial and equity results are enabling us to take on new challenges (like those already undertaken in Vietnam, Africa, India and Greater China) guided by the pioneering vision that has defined our history, but also to develop new forms of cooperation to exploit the most attractive opportunities the market can offer.
We are confident we will continue to grow this year too: Retail figures for 1st quarter 2012 show an average growth of 11% at constant rates, enabling us to consolidate our role in the global men’s luxury retail market. I feel sure that Jing Ulrich’s joining of the board will be a strong support to us in the entire Asian market, which looks increasingly likely to be the powerhouse of the world economy in coming years”.
Ermenegildo Zegna Group announces that, in the Initial Public Offering, it has acquired 3% of Brunello Cucinelli S.p.A. capital.
“With Brunello Cucinelli,” commented Ermenegildo Zegna Group CEO Gildo Zegna, “one of our most important textile clients, we have had solid industrial relationships for a long time. We’ve admired their farsighted business choices and the way they’ve established themselves at national and international level. And I’m sure that together we’ll be able to give an even bigger boost to “Made in Italy”, not only in the interests of our companies in particular but for Italian industry in general”.
Ermenegildo Zegna Group
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