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11/22/2024 08:46:40 am

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Prada Sales Hit By China Crackdown on Corruption

Prada Sales Hit By China Crackdown on Corruption

(Photo : REUTERS/Bobby Yip) A handbag is seen behind a display window at a Prada store in Hong Kong in this picture taken June 3, 2011.

Italian luxury brand Prada, popular for its bags, hit a sales slump last year due to a tougher market in Asia, especially China, in the latter part of 2014, the company disclosed on Sunday.


China's campaign against corruption and conspicuous spending weighed down sales of luxury goods, which also affected Prada rivals such as Ralph Lauren and Gucci.

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Prada said weak sales in Asia spilled into 2015, saying the different timing of the Chinese Lunar New Year also dragged down performance in January throughout China.

It did not disclose details of its fourth-quarter performance and yearly comparative sales. However, protests in Hong Kong sent its third-quarter results tumbling and company shares have shed a third of their value in the past year.

The company, which is based in Milan, also owns the Car Shoe, Church's and Miu Miu brands.

The chief executive and co-founder of Prada, Patrizio Bertelli, said the company operated under a financial and geopolitical environment throughout last year which was far more complex and uncertain than they could have imagined.

Bertelli added that the brand would keep an eye on costs to secure profit margins and proper returns on investments.

Prada is expected to scale back opening new stores as a result of weaker demand, with plans to add some 35 stores this year instead of the planned 65. The company has 594 directly owned stores.

The brand has focused on growing its directly owned network of retail shops in the past three years, which some analysts say left Prada vulnerable to quick shifts in shoppers' tastes not only in China but also in the US and Europe.

Making adjustments to big swings in worldwide luxury spending is weighing on the capital expenditure of luxury companies, in turn frustrating the ability of the management to quickly adapt.

Some analysts said top fashion is in its most tenuous position now because more shoppers are buying their clothes from mass-fashion mid-priced brands such as Hugo Boss and Michael Kors.

The company has also been fixing its own particular issues including a lack of popular products that will match big successes like the Prada double bag.  

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