Miu Miu is hot — and Prada Group expects it to stay that way for the next three years at least.
On Wednesday Prada reported continued growth at the group in the nine months ended Sept. 30, propelled by strong retail sales in all geographic areas, including Asia Pacific, and the gravity-defying gains at Miu Miu, where retail revenues soared 97 percent in the period to 854 million euros. The brand now accounts for 25 percent of total sales, and it showed an acceleration in the third quarter as revenues in that period jumped 105 percent. As reported, Miu Miu once again returned to be ranked the hottest brand in the world in the third quarter, according to shopping platform Lyst.
“We are very proud of the trajectory and the team has been working day and night to keep up with expectations and we expect to continue this positive trajectory from 2025 and on until 2027,” said group chief executive officer Andrea Guerra during a call with analysts, attributing Miu Miu’s performance to its strong point of view, and the development in image, creativity, retail network, and rebalancing mix of products. “It’s a journey of constant and solid work, positive energy and the results are paying off, but it’s still a long journey. While its growth has been stellar and fast, in terms of numbers it’s not so big,” he cautioned.
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Asked about the potential arrival of a new CEO following the exit of Benedetta Petruzzo, who joined Christian Dior Couture as managing director on Oct. 15, Guerra said “we have been working in a very healthy manner, and will announce the new CEO in the next one to three months.”
Prada‘s retail sales, which continue to contribute to the bulk of revenues, also showed an increase, up 4 percent to 2.53 billion euros, although the increase was pegged at 2 percent in the third quarter impacted by China. “If we remove China, we had a very healthy quarter for Prada, which was the main detractor,” said Guerra, keeping a “positive stance, the brand is incredibly desirable there are no question marks.”
The executive was very confident in the strategy and strength of the brand, “we are very proud of its healthy growth, and it deserves to gain market share, there is still homework to be done in consumer relationship and retail, but I am optimistic about the future.” Barring “a crash in the environment, we can continue to see healthier growth than the market average.”
Indeed, in a statement, Patrizio Bertelli, Prada Group chairman and executive director said “We are pleased to see that our strategy keeps delivering above-market performance at both Prada and Miu Miu. We are operating in a challenging environment, for the entire luxury value chain. Nonetheless, we continue to see opportunities for our brands and remain committed to our strategic investment plan in retail, technology and industrial capabilities to support the long-term, sustainable growth of our group and our partners.”
At the group level, which also includes Church’s and Car Shoe, revenues rose 15 percent to 3.83 billion euros in the nine months, compared with 3.34 billion euros in the same period last year. At constant exchange rates, sales climbed 18 percent.
Retail sales were up 15 percent to 3.42 billion euros, in a consistent like-for-like growth trajectory as they rose 18 percent at constant exchange rates in the third quarter, also driven by full price volumes.
After growing like-for-like for the past two to three years, Guerra said the group is planning to expand Miu Miu store space, especially in Europe. “We feel there are some cities or regions wehere Miu Miu is not present or relevant yet.”
The continent, he said, is “standing out” for the brand, where investments were channeled the most in the past 24 months, with a very positive response. “The U.S. is still smaller for Miu Miu, and we have begun to to invest properly in that market, but it will take time.”
Responding to an analyst’s question, Guerra admitted that “our growth is beyond expectations at Miu Miu, we would never have predited doubling its business, and sometimes there is an alchimia, a secret recipe, but we are not worried about the pace of the supply chain, we are fully prepared for the growth.”
Group wholesale sales were up 8 percent to 314 million euros. Royalties rose 24 percent to 91 million euros, showing the strength of the group’s fragrance and eyewear collections.
In the nine months, group sales in Asia Pacific rose 9 percent to 1.14 billion euros with an overall in-line trend in the third quarter, despite the more challenging market conditions in the region. At constant exchange rates, revenues in the area were up 12 percent.
Sales in Europe increased 16 percent to 1.09 billion euros over the nine months, supported by both domestic and tourist spending.
The group reported a positive progression in the Americas over the nine-month period, up 7 percent to 576 million euros, showing a further slight acceleration quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter.
Japan registered 40 percent growth in sales to 466 million euros, driven by solid local consumption and strong tourist flows. At constant exchange rates, sales in that market jumped 53 percent. The third quarter continued to show high growth, while in deceleration versus the previous quarter.
The Middle East also registered a solid performance in the nine-month period, up 24 percent to 154 million euros, accelerating in the third quarter.
Chief financial officer Andrea Bonini said “Chinese spend is still 65 percent local and largely in Asia.”
Guerra said that Europe has been “resilient and more dynamic, North America showed ups and downs, improving in a pre-election mode. Asia showed easier comps but is still tough, but in the next three to nine months it can show a positive outlook. Japan slowed down at the end of July but it’s a great place to be. China is more complicated, and we don’t see it improving in the near future, we must be very agile.”
He added that the Middle East and the U.S. have shown an acceleration because “we made the conscious decision a year ago to restart from scratch with a local commercial and retail organization.”
Bonini said “nationalities have grown to be more balanced.”
Asked about potentially growing group margins, he said that while increases in the top line remain a priority, “we are on track for a margin growth as well. We have the advantage of being a multibrand group.” Prada’s strength, generating profitability, has helped investments in Miu Miu, which in turn is contributing to the group’s growth, he pointed out.
Guerra concurred, saying it is key to “keep the balance between top and bottom line, and we are ready to deliver better margins.”
Responding to a question, Guerra said that at Prada, while increasing prices in the low single digit every five to six months, “we have not moved all our prices up but we are trying to stretch the price range, entry is well-positioned but there is yet sustainalbe territory in extending the range. It’s a goldmine opportunity.”
As for product categories, at Miu Miu, “we’ve seen success in leather goods in the past 24 to 30 months and we cover the desire of 60 to 65 percent of consumers with our leather goods, it’s a good balance, we are happy with the growth mix. At Prada, the growth has been even, but slightly over- proportioned with leather goods.”
Sales of Prada jewelry have doubled from last year, but the category is still small, as it was launched two and a half years ago, he noted.
In a statement, the group underscored recent developments in the period. These include the participation of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the 37th America’s Cup — where it lost in the final round to decide the challenger; the unveiling of the spacesuit developed in partnership with Axiom Space, and Miu Miu’s immersive, site-specific art project Tales & Tellers, presented in the framework of Art Basel Paris, all of which contributed to enhance the brands’ ability to play across different sectors.
