Yves Saint Laurent sales projected to double within five years

Yves Saint Laurent sales are expected to nearly double within three to five years according to CEO and president Francesca Bellettini.

Bellettini, now four years at the helm of the luxury fashion label, has set a goal of lifting sales from 1.2 billion euros in 2016 to 2 billion euros (US$2.2 billion) in the “mid-term” and 3 billion euros in the longer term.

“This company was really a Ferrari. So we gave it the engine of a Ferrari and not the engine of a Cinquecento and now it will go as a Ferrari should go,” Bellettini told a media briefing at the recent Yves Saint Laurent Investor Day.

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He says he wants to raise YSL’s operating margin from 22 per cent in 2016 to 25 per cent mid-term, and 27 per cent long-term.

Bellettini says the higher sales will come from opening another 41 stores – taking its network to 200 – as well as expanding categories such as eyewear, silk and jewellery and increased investment in e-commerce and travel retail.

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Last year, YSL revenue rose 25.5 per cent on a same-store basis, representing its sixth consecutive year of growth rate above 20 per cent. Profit jumped 59.3 per cent.

Asia Pacific accounted for 23 per cent of the company’s sales. The company plans as many as 12 more stores in China.

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