Zegna Reports 27% Growth in 2021 Group Revenues
MILAN – In its first set of results as a public company, the Zegna Group on Tuesday reported a 27% increase in 2021 preliminary revenues to 1.3 billion euros compared with 1 billion euros in 2020.
This strong performance was driven by a continued rebound of the Zegna segment, whose revenues increased 23% to 1.03 billion euros, as well as a very strong performance of the Thom Browne brand, which was up 47%, with sales totaling 263 million euros.
In the 12 months ended Dec. 31, Zegna branded products, which include apparel, bags, shoes and leather goods, as well as licensed goods and royalties, registered revenues that rose 33% to 847 million euros driven in large part by the robust growth in two primary areas: luxury leisurewear and shoes.
The Thom Browne label, acquired by the group in 2018, grew in every channel, geography and product line in both men’s and women’s categories.
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The group’s textile revenues also saw a double-digit percentage increase to 102 million euros.
“Our first financial release as a publicly listed company confirms that Zegna is a global leader in the luxury market,” said chairman and chief executive officer Gildo Zegna. “Our focus on excellence, innovation and the strong customer response to our luxury leisurewear resulted in our preliminary full year revenues outpacing our previously disclosed plan. By focusing on our legacy brand – which is going through a major rebranding – and on the further strengthening of our one-of-a-kind Made in Italy luxury textile platform coupled with the dynamic pace at which Thom Browne continues, we were able to deliver a strong financial performance in 2021. While we will continue to monitor world events and the COVID pandemic’s potential impacts on our business, we remain optimistic about our growth in 2022, with improved profitability.”
The executive also revealed that the 2022 collections will be the last using fur for both the Zegna and Thom Browne labels.
The group expects to report a 2021 adjusted operating profit margin of around 10%.
In 2021, revenues showed growth across all geographies, with sales in North America climbing 46% to 191 million euros, due in large part to a very strong performance in the United States, where revenues were up 53%. The group saw similarly strong sales in the Asia Pacific region, where sales grew 26% to 696 million euros, with the Greater China Region continuing a two-year upward trend, up 34% since 2020 and 28% since 2019.
The Europe, Middle East and Africa region saw a 20% increase in revenues to 380 million euros, driven by a rebound in Italy’s sales to above 2019 levels and by the outstanding performance of the United Arab Emirates.
Shares started trading under the ZGN ticker on Dec. 20 at $10.30.
Zegna listed in New York after entering into a business agreement with Investindustrial Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition corporation, sponsored by investment subsidiaries of Investindustrial VII LP.
IAC raised total gross proceeds of $402.5 million in its IPO. The Zegna family continues to control the luxury company with a stake of nearly 66%. Investindustrial has a stake of around 13% stake and about 21% is free floating.
Based on the transaction value, the merged entity had an initial enterprise value of $3.1 billion with a market capitalization of $2.4 billion. The transaction delivers approximately $761 million in gross proceeds.
The IPO is expected to allow Zegna to further expand globally and continue to build its manufacturing pipeline through acquisitions.
Ahead of the listing, the men’s wear giant kicked off a major rebranding project, resulting in the label being known simply as Zegna.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
