Italian fashion house Versace expects to return to record sales levels in 2011, after restructuring and Asian demand for high-end clothes helped it raise full-year targets, its chief executive said on October 12.
In an interview with Reuters, Chief Executive Gian Giacomo Ferraris said he was confident the group would return to profitability by the end of 2011, thanks to brand repositioning and surging demand in Asia and Europe.
"Given the actual sales trend, next year I expect our top- line sales to reach the levels seen in 2008, our best year in revenue terms," Ferraris said. Versace, whose sexy evening gowns have been worn by pop icon Madonna and film stars Drew Barrimore and Penelope Cruz, has undergone a deep restructuring after being hit hard by the financial crisis in 2009. Revenue fell to 268 million euros ($371.5 million) last year from 330 million euros in 2008.
Ferraris said he expected revenue this year to come in at more than 280 million euros, above a target of 270 million euros. The group has revamped its 88 shops around the world, opened a new store in Geneva this year and plans to re-enter Japan in 2011. Europe accounts for 50 percent of Versace's sales, followed by Asia and the Middle East, and the United States.