The parent of affordable-luxury fashion labels Sandro, Claudie Pierlot and Maje appears unphased by the Sino-US trade spat, vowing to continue its expansion in the region.
SMCP’s CEO Daniel Lalonde said in an interview reported by Reuters that the company plans to continue to open new stores in Mainland China and invest in e-commerce across the region.
“From our perspective, everything is still intact [in China]. Any slowdown in our business is related to the comparison base … and we still expect to grow that market by more than 20 per cent this year,” Lalonde said. “We’re still confident on the region.”
France-based SMCP is controlled by Chinese company Shandong Ruyi. This week it reported an 8.1 per cent increase in fourth-quarter sales to €276.1 million.
SMCP has doubled its annual sales during the past four years, reaching €1 billion last year, largely due to rapid expansion in Mainland China. Asia is now SMCP’s third-largest geographic market behind France and the rest of Europe, with China accounting for the bulk.
However, he said sales in Hong Kong were “a little softer” as a result of currency fluctuations between the Hong Kong dollar and the renminbi.