Luxury business Lanvin Group reported its 2024 full-year preliminary revenues on Friday (ahead of its earnings report due in April) and it was clearly a tough period for the firm as it reported revenue down as much as 23% to €328 million.

The company said this reflected “a transitional year marked by creative evolution and strategic realignment amid market headwinds”.

The Lanvin, Sergio Rossi, Wolford, St John and Caruso owner also said it was prioritising “creative renewal and operational agility amid [the] evolving luxury landscape”.

So let’s look at the figures in detail. The Lanvin brand’s revenue dropped 26% to €82.7 million, while Wolford was down 31% at €87.6 million. Meanwhile, St John dropped 12% to €79.2 million and Sergio Rossi plummeted 30% to €41.9 million. Caruso was down ‘only’ 7% at €37.1 million.

If we look at the figures by geography we can see that EMEA was down 28% at €145.3 million while revenue in North America fell 13% at €128.58 million. Greater China plunged 37% to €33.29 million and the rest of the world was down 12% at €20.9 million.

Moving on to look at the figures by distribution channel, the company said that direct-to-consumer/e-commerce revenue fell 19% to just over €200 million while wholesale was down 28% at €115.8 million. Other revenue fell 31% to just over €12 million.

Softening market, strategic agility

Clearly, those numbers don’t paint a pretty picture and the group said that it had to deal with “a softening market in FY2024”. But it also “demonstrated strategic agility by proactively aligning its operations with evolving market conditions”. 

While those preliminary revenues “reflected broader industry trends, the group’s decisive actions — including optimising its retail network and enhancing operational efficiency — underscored its commitment to long-term prospects,” we’re told.

It explained that its diversified brand portfolio “demonstrated varying degrees of resilience in 2024”. Of course, it’s important to remember that every single one of the brands saw revenue dropping, most of them by double digits. 

Yet although both St John and Caruso revenues were among the falls during the year, the company seemed pleased with their performances overall and said they “showed stability, underscoring the strength of their loyal customer base and distinct market positioning”.

Wolford was in a much worse position with that 31% revenue decline. The company “faced temporary disruptions in logistics and was affected by a macroeconomic downturn,” we’re told.

Meanwhile, Lanvin and Sergio Rossi, “despite facing industry-wide headwinds, embraced bold creative renewal, setting the stage to redefine their artistic visions and chart a course toward future growth”.

As for those revenue numbers by region, Lanvin Group said that it saw “stability in Japan and North America” while EMEA and Greater China “experienced softer demand”. In fact, last year EMEA endured “a decline in wholesale purchases, reflecting a cautious distributor sentiment, particularly affecting Lanvin and Sergio Rossi”. 

In Greater China, “sales continued to underperform compared to the previous year, during which the group implemented targeted strategies to reignite growth in this key market”. 

Japan and North America “demonstrated greater resilience in the face of these challenges, underscoring the strength of Lanvin Group’s brand equity in these regions”.

It added that this year is “poised to be the cornerstone of future development, with a strengthened leadership team and bold creative visions set to reinvigorate the group’s portfolio”.

The group is “enhancing its management capabilities by developing a dynamic leadership team under the new executive president, Andy Lew, and establishing a second headquarters in Europe to strengthen local presence while optimising decision-making efficiency”.

It has also “proactively consolidated its store network, focusing on core business units and optimising its retail footprint” while the appointment of a new artistic director and creative director at Lanvin and Sergio Rossi, respectively, “is expected to boost sales, with Peter Copping’s debut show in January 2025 receiving widespread acclaim”.