SMCP fashion group falls into the red, weighed down by China

The fashion group SMCP (Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Fursac) reported a net loss of more than 23 million euros in 2024 due to poor performance in the Chinese market, and despite improvement in the second half of the year.

In 2023, its net profit was 11 million euros, compared to 51 million euros in 2022.

In 2024, meanwhile, the group's turnover, at 1.2 billion euros, was down 1.5 percent, the company said in a statement released Thursday.

In three of the four regions where the group is present, the business grew (+1.1 percent in France, +3.7 percent in Europe - outside France -, Middle East and Africa and +5.4% in America). Asia Pacific, however, saw store revenue fall by 18.5 percent.

"If we isolate performance in China, we have a performance over the year which is positive, and even more positive in the fourth quarter," group CEO Isabelle Guichot told AFP.

Over this period, sales increased by 1.9 percent and by 4.7 percent if we exclude the Chinese market.

SMCP has been working for several years to optimize its network of stores and closed 80 of its own locations in 2024, including 65 in China.

"Chinese consumption will no longer be the same in the years to come, we probably had too large a network (...) which we adapted to the potential of the Chinese market," explained Ms. Guichot.

In terms of brands, Sandro is doing best, reporting a stable turnover (+0.6 percent), followed by Maje (-0.9 percent). Claudie Pierlot and Fursac's joint turnover, meanwhile, fell by -11 percent.

"In degraded environments, the most global brands, more powerful ones with broader geographic footprints, are doing better," noted Isabelle Guichot. Fursac in particular, which is "more focused on the France", suffered from the period of the Olympic Games in Paris, according to the director general.

"For us, it was an important year, of transition, in a situation which remains complex and of which we are quite proud because we have shown the strength of our group," she added, recalling the decrease of 49 million euros of the group's debt, to 237 million at the end of 2024.

An affordable luxury group, SMCP is present in 49 countries, with a network of more than 1,600 stores worldwide.(AFP)