COMPANY FOCUSCOMPANY:MonclerFOUNDED:Monestier-de-Clermont, France 1952 VIEWS: 195 STOCK DATA:MONCLERMONC.MI1,19%48,21 € Sales were down for both Moncler & Stone Island for Q3 2024 in what has been described as “a period of continuous volatility”. Overall optimism on the luxury brand market doesn’t look as rosy as perhaps it did 5-10 years ago. Following the recent news LVMH had purchased a 10% stake in Moncler, Moncler Group’s latest financials for Q3 2024 are more proof of the challenges facing the overall luxury market as wallets (and purses) continued to be squeezed. Sales fell 3% for Moncler, which also owns Stone Island, for the July-September 2024 period with sales falling for both brands. Overall revenues declined to €636 million, which were down 3%. Analysts had predicted revenues of €645 million with the shortfall leading to a slip in the share value of MONC.MI in yesterdays trading. Moncler brand sales were down by 3% to €532 million, which was hit by a wholesale reorganisation and a 9% annual drop in wholesale revenue. Revenues for the luxury ski brand fell 2% in Asia Pacific, 3% in Europe and 6% in the Americas compared to the same period last year. For Stone Island sales were also down to 4% for the third quarter, with 28% growth in their direct-to-consumer channels which was offset against the 19% decline in the Stone Island wholesale channels. So what’s really happening at Moncler. Well let’s be brutally honest a 3% slip in sales is hardly a “call in the administrators” scenario. €636 million in sales over 3 months would put the majority of brands out there to shame. The take home is the company is seeing a slight decline in sales. From a Stone Island perspective there is a general consensus among the Stone Island community that they have been priced out of the brand. The latest Glass Cover-TC jacket, as worn by Liam Gallagher for their latest campaign, retails at over £2000. A standard arm badge sweatshirt now retails for over £300. The question is, with increased mortgage rates and literally every other household bill going up, who can really afford that? As the brand merged with Moncler it was pretty clear it wanted a more “luxury” appeal. The reality is as Stoney becomes more luxury it’s actually losing touch (literally) with its core consumer that has driven the brands growth over the last 10-20 years. As luxury looks to appeal to the “want more” generation of social media feeds and fake lifestyles, can a brand like Stone Island really be sustainable? A basics range of staples would be a shout for Stone Island, because otherwise if people really want to still “get the badge in” they’re going to have to pay for it.See alsoNews·August 7, 2024Zalando Q2 Sales Up Thanks To Sporting Summer Our industry is facing a period of continuous volatility, characterised by a more difficult global macroeconomic context, which has been impacting consumer confidence in several markets. In light of these ongoing uncertainties, we remain focused on what we do best: building long-lasting connections with our customers, and – most importantly – creating energy and emotions around our brands. Remo Ruffini, CEO Moncler