Asian buyers fall out of love with Prada products
ITALIAN luxury fashion house Prada announced yesterday that its first quarter sales fell amid a spending slowdown by Chinese tourists in Europe, coupled with unstable exchange rates.
The brand said that net income for the three-month period ending 31 April fell 24 per cent to €105.3m (£85.5m), missing analysts’ estimates of €129.7m.
The high-end fashion company’s sales fell 0.6 per cent to €777.7m, below analysts’ forecasts of around €813m. At constant exchange rates, sales rose 3.8 per cent.
In April, Prada said it expected sales to grow 9 per cent this year, with an operating profit margin in line with 2013 and like-for-like sales growth of at least 3 per cent.
However, Prada said that lacklustre local consumer confidence and a decline in travellers from Asia on a 4.1 per cent fall in European sales were to blame for the fall in income.