Shareholders,
2007 was another year of great satisfaction for our Group, a year in which we were focussed on implementation of our plans on all fronts.
Growth was achieved across the board: results were positive and our market leadership position was further strengthened over the year. Sales topped the five billion Euro mark and we embarked on a new mission with Oakley whilst maintaining excellent levels of profitability at the same time.
Our strategy continued to prove successful, being based on our unique model of integration between production and distribution and direct presence in all the world’s markets, factors which have enabled us to continue building on our well balanced brand portfolio.
2007 was also a year of major investments on both the wholesale and retail fronts. On one hand, we immediately started to integrate with Oakley, so as to see the first results come through in 1st quarter 2008; and on the other, we managed to renew nearly a quarter of our points of sale.
We see the growth in our retail business over the year as very positive also in view of the global economic situation, which gradually worsened due to the contraction in consumer demand in North America and the persistent weakening of the Dollar against the Euro.
Wholesale too continued to grow in 2007, thus endorsing our business model in all major markets and demonstrating the consolidated force of our brand portfolio. The year also saw two splendid debuts: the launch of our first Polo Ralph Lauren collection and Tiffany’s first ever appearance on the eyewear market.
We celebrated our first ten years in China, where we started up with the Tristar plant and now have new offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong, and around 300 stores, a retail platform we intend to expand in the near future. Like China, all our emerging markets also saw considerable growth, allowing us to predict strong development also in regions whose economies are evolving rapidly and are less dependent on the US Dollar.
Our managerial organization reached new levels of maturity, as it continued to take up business opportunities wherever they occurred and to react rapidly and effectively to every new scenario.
All this is obviously a source of great satisfaction, also in terms of our excellent prospects for growth in 2008.
May 2008