Dive Brief:
- Aeffe SpA saw a first quarter consolidated revenue dip of 14% to 80.2 million euros, or approximately $86.4 million at current exchange rates, compared to 93.2 million euros for the same period last year, according to a Friday release.
- Italy, the company’s largest market with almost 44% of its total revenue, was down 17.6% year over year, while in America, the smallest market with nearly 5% of its revenue, dropped 27.7% for the period. Wholesale revenue, which accounts for almost 70% of the company’s turnover, was down 16.7%.
- In January, Adrian Appiolaza was named creative director of Aeffe’s Moschino house, overseeing women’s, men’s, and accessories collections. The role was vacant following the November 2023 death of Davide Renne, who died nine days after taking on the position.
Dive Insight:
Aeffe’s earnings downturn echoes similar challenges faced by some companies across the luxury fashion sector, including Kering, Burberry, and Salvatore Ferragamo, which have all struggled in recent months against economic headwinds and reserved consumer spending.
Last year was a tumultuous one for Aeffe, particularly with Moschino. The house’s long-term creative director, Jeremy Scott, left in March after a decade, followed later that month by the exit of Stefano Secchi, the general manager. The death of Scott’s replacement Renne further destabilized the brand. Aeffe, which also owns Alberta Ferretti, Philosophy and Pollini closed out fiscal 2023 with a consolidated revenue decline of 9.5%.
Massimo Ferretti, Aeffe’s executive chairman, said Q1 results were in line with the company’s expectations, and were due in part to a global wholesale slowdown and Aeffe’s transformation process, “especially in relation to the Moschino label.”
“The debut of the new creative direction of the brand, entrusted to Adrian Appiolaza, received very positive feedbacks, which we hope to be able to fully capitalize with the Pre-Spring 2025 collection, which will be unveiled with a co-ed show during Milan Men’s Fashion Week in June,” Ferretti said in the release. “In the meantime, we hope that the international instability that has characterized the last year will weaken, allowing the recovery of markets of primary importance for our Group.”
Appiolaza, who showed his first collection less than a month after taking on the creative director role, is the fifth creative director to helm Moschino since Franco Moschino founded the label in 1983. Prior to Moschino, Appiolaza spent a decade as women’s ready-to-wear design director at Loewe, and before that he was women’s ready-to-wear design director at Chloé.
