Onofri, former president of outerwear brand Napapijri, with previous executive roles at Bulgari and Bally, will take her new role starting on February 26.
Former Miu Miu CEO Benedetta Petruzzo left the label in September to join Christian Dior Couture.
Miu Miu, the second largest brand in the Prada Group, recorded strong growth in 2024, with sales almost doubling year-on-year in January-September.
Moncler SpA released annual results “above market expectations” on Thursday afternoon as it detailed ongoing sales increases and a rise in profits, with the Moncler brand strong for much of the year and Stone Island improving in the final quarter.
Moncler
Consolidated revenues increased 7% at constant exchange rates (CER) and 4% on a reported basis, hitting just under €3.109 billion.
The Moncler brand saw its revenues rising 8% CER and 5% reported to €2.707 billion. It enjoyed a “solid performance” in the fourth quarter (up 8% CER) “mostly driven by the acceleration of the Direct-To-Consumer channel”, which was up 9% CER, “despite a tough comparable base and still volatile market trends”. Growth improved in all regions compared with the previous quarter.
Stone Island was less buoyant for the year as a whole but much stronger in Q4. For the full year, revenues actually fell 1% CER and 2% reported to €401.6 million. But in Q4, they rose 10% CER with all regions accelerating. The DTC channel was up a healthy 15% CER in the quarter and although the wholesale channel still dipped 1%, that was a better performance than the rest of the year.
So what did that all mean for profits? Group EBIT rose to €916.3 million from €893.8 million, and while the EBIT margin was down very slightly (at 29.5% compare to 30% a year earlier) it was still “resilient”, especially given the tough environment.
Group net profit rose 5% to €639.6 million and the group had a healthy cash position.
Chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini was understandably upbeat: “In 2024 our group achieved remarkable results and showed strong resilience in a complex and volatile environment… underscoring the strength of our business model and operational discipline.
Ph: Benoit Florencon
“Over the past year, we have doubled down on what makes our brands truly distinctive. The events of Moncler Grenoble in St. Moritz and Moncler Genius in Shanghai — the most impactful one in the brand’s history — brought our disruptive creativity to life, redefining the concept of brand experience. Meanwhile, Stone Island continued to reinforce its unique identity through a series of powerful brand initiatives, deepening connections with both new and loyal communities.
“As we move into 2025, while the global macroeconomic context remains uncertain, we are confident in our ability to navigate evolving market dynamics. Inspired by our heritage, our passion for innovation, and our ambition to push boundaries beyond conventions, we are shaping the future of our brands to drive sustainable growth and create long-term value.”
Britain’s business secretary said a London listing set a “gold standard” in terms of environmental, labour and tax regulation, countering any risk of moral hazard, when asked about Chinese online retailer Shein‘s intention to float.
Reuters
Jonathan Reynolds’ signal of support for the IPO came after London was dealt a blow when Unilever chose Amsterdam for the main listing of its ice cream business on Thursday. Shein confidentially filed papers with Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in June last year, sources have told Reuters. But it has taken longer than typically expected for the regulator to sign off on a listing that could value the company at $50 billion.
Reynolds said the FCA made decisions about listings so he was speaking in abstract terms. “Our aspiration should be if there’s a business doing a lot of business in the UK, the gold standard for us is regulating from the UK,” he told reporters after a speech on Thursday. Shein has faced allegations that it uses cotton from China’s Xinjiang province, where the United States has accused the Chinese government of human rights abuses. Beijing denies any abuses.
It has also been accused of damaging the environment and avoiding tax, prompting some UK lawmakers to question its suitability for going public in the UK. Shein refutes these allegations.
Reynolds said: “If we have any concerns about any company, the best way to make sure we don’t have those concerns in the future is to regulate them here in the UK. “So I don’t see (a listing) as a moral hazard or controversial.”
Reynolds said he had wanted Unilever to opt for London, where it has its main listing. “We do a lot of work talking to a range of businesses to make sure they understand the political desire for them to come to the UK,” he said.
Pension reforms were one example of the steps the government was taking, he said. “But I feel we will not maybe turn around some of the sentiment until we’ve got some of those high profile success stories,” he said. “I would have liked Unilever in the UK.”
Meta Platforms will allow rival classified ads service providers to list ads on Facebook Marketplace, the company said on Thursday, three months after it was hit with a €797-million- ($828 million) EU antitrust fine for giving its own service an unfair advantage.
The European Commission in its decision in November said the U.S. tech giant had imposed unfair trading conditions on its rivals and had also tied Facebook Marketplace to its social network Facebook in breach of EU antitrust rules.
Calling it the Facebook Marketplace Partner Progam, Meta said the scheme is a response to the EU competition watchdog even as it challenged the fine in court.
It echoed recent comments by Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, saying that the EU decision “serves as another example of the EU directly targeting U.S. companies in a manner that is tantamount to a tariff regime”.
Meta said it tested the partner scheme in Germany, France and the United States with eBay last month.
“This new program will mean that third-party partners (specifically, online classified ad service providers as defined in the European Commission’s decision) will be able to list their consumer-to-consumer inventory on Facebook Marketplace,” Meta said in a blogpost.
“That inventory will appear side by side with other third-party inventory and Facebook user listings.”
The Commission said it was currently assessing whether Meta has fully complied with the November ruling.