China outshone all other markets for the Italian luxury goods brand Brunello Cucinelli in its first quarter.
Revenue growth for Brunello Cucinelli China soared by 35.2 per cent in the three months to the end of March, nearly four times as much as its next best market, North America at 9.8 per cent.
Sales in Greater China reached €10.4 million (US$11.3 million) compared to €7.7 million for the same period last year.
The company says the growth trend was led by Mainland China’s network of exclusive direct boutiques, unchanged over the past 24 months. Also, more space was dedicated to the brand in a growing number of exclusive multi-brand stores.
Net revenues for the company overall reached €134.1 million, with international growth up 11.4 per cent.
Chairman/CEO Brunello Cucinelli says the company envisages another “particularly good” year ahead with double-digit growth in both revenues and profitability.
Its network comprised 90 direct boutiques at the end of March, compared to 86 at the end of last year. Meanwhile, the company launched two websites in January, one dedicated to business philosophy and the other an online boutique.
Brunello Cucinelli specialises in cashmere in the informal luxury pret-a-porter sector. It was founded in 1978 and currently has about 1600 employees. It works out of the medieval hamlet of Solomeo, on the outskirts of Perugia, and the brand is distributed in more than 60 countries through 122 monobrand boutiques (90 direct and 32 wholesalers).
