Van de Velde decreases revenue expectations for 2018

By

Tanissia Issad

Published
Apr 21, 2018

Following the launch of the swimwear line of its Marie Jo brand, which the Belgian lingerie group had high hopes would drive growth this year, Van de Velde has announced that its initial objectives for sales increases in 2018 will very likely not be accomplished. 

Having announced a few months ago that it was hoping to see slight growth more in line with its usual trajectory, the lingerie specialist now expects sales revenues to remain stable, at best, in 2018, or to decline modestly compared to the previous year. A result which, according to the brand, "is expected to put significant pressure on the profit trend compared with 2017."

This is not to say that the Belgian group has been completely disappointed by the performance of Marie Jo's new swimwear line, as it also commented in a release that the "successful launch of Marie Jo Swim and growth of new channels partly offset the impact of the slow start of sales in traditional channels" –  although perhaps here "partly" is the operative word.  

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In 2017, the group reported modest sales growth of 1.2% which, when taking into account the negative effect of exchange rates, amounted to a 0.6% decrease compared to 2016, for a total revenue of 205.6 million euros. As for EBITDA, it fell 10.1% from 61.9 million euros in the prior year, to 55.7 million in 2017. 

In order to stem the erosion of its sales, Van de Velde is intending to implement strategic improvements along three different lines in 2018. As well as reworking the positioning of PrimaDonna, Marie Jo and Andres Sarda, the group also plans to put greater emphasis on its digital sales channel and optimize its supply chain.