The Brands: OTB Group hits €1.74 billion turnover and grows +14% in 2022

OTB, the international fashion and luxury group that controls the Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor&Rolf brands, the Staff International and Brave Kid companies, and holds a stake in the Amiri brand, has presented its consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022.

The year 2022 was a year of important growth that consolidated the Group’s positioning on all its main markets and distribution channels. The financial year closed with turnover of €1.743 billion, up 14% from 2021, and a +32% in the luxury segment.

Net sales amounted to €1.63 billion, an increase of 12% from 2021 driven by the luxury business (Jil Sander, Maison Margiela and Marni).

In geographical terms, thanks largely to the Group’s robust retail expansion, the strongest performance was reported in North America and the Asia-Pacific region, where Japan continues to represent OTB’s core market.

The Group’s Ebitda was €314 million (+22% from the 2021 operating figure and +65% from 2019).

Its Ebit rose to €134 million, an increase of €40 million from the 2021 operating figure and €116 million from 2019.

Net profit was €105 million, an improvement of €44 million from the 2021 operating figure and €103 million from 2019.

The investments of 2022 investments amounted to €81 million, an increase of 70% from 2021 and 116% from 2019.

The OTB Group’s luxury brands (Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni) were the key growth drivers, reflecting constant solid progress with respect to both 2021 (+32%) and 2019 (+103%). The Staff International and Brave Kid companies also made a significant contribution, reporting turnover growth of 32% and 26% respectively from 2021. 

Diesel’s achievements
Under the leadership of creative director Glenn Martens, Diesel continued its successful repositioning as an alternative-to-luxury brand, with significant investments in products, communication and a new store concept.

Photo: Diesel

Diesel

The effects of this evolution can already be seen in the excellent performance of a number of products that have quickly acquired iconic status – the 1DR bag, for example – and in the growing interest and engagement of a global audience of new clients and brand lovers.

A protagonist in Milan in 2022 at the first inclusive fashion show open to the public and the virtual community of NFT holders, Diesel is currently enjoying great visibility.

Some key facts
The strong investment drive in the Group’s direct channels continued in 2022 with the opening of 73 new stores in markets of key importance for international growth, notably China, Korea and the USA.

The e-commerce channel was also given an additional boost with the arrival of Maison Margiela on the omnichannel Moon platform, the innovative OTB operating model first launched with Diesel in 2020 and extended with the entry of Marni in 2021, which offers seamless and complete personalised digital shopping experiences.

To mark its arrival on the platform, Maison Margiela also presented a full website restyling, promoted and overseen by creative director John Galliano, which rethinks fashion’s relationship with online shopping as a digital representation of a physical in-store experience.

The positive growth trend in online sales for all Group brands continued in 2022.

Global expansion
Confirming the strategy launched in 2021, 2022 saw continued expansion of the OTB Group whose objective is to develop its international markets through the opening of mono-brand stores in regions with high potential, such as Asia-Pacific in China, at the JC Plaza luxury mall in Shanghai, where the world’s largest OTB retail store opened in July.

Photo: OTB Foundation Group

JC Plaza OTB stores

OTB also consolidated its presence in South Korea, where, after setting up a subsidiary in 2021, it opened 15 new stores and made significant investments in marketing and communication operations for its brands.

The Group confirmed its investment drive in North America, where it continued to consolidate its retail network with the opening of 13 stores in key cities, including Jil Sander in New York and Miami, Maison Margiela in Honolulu and Dallas, and Diesel in Toronto and Montreal.

In Europe, the region that represents the heart and history of the Group, OTB decided to make important investments in its offices, to improve well-being for its people and to raise the positioning of the Group and its brands even higher.

As part of this plan, the new Paris headquarters of Maison Margiela opened in Place des États-Unis, to match the growth, evolution and spirit of the brand. The new offices join those in Avenue d’Iéna.

The Group also announced an important real estate development project in Milan in 2022, at the “Ex-Scalo di Porta Romana” area, a future international luxury hub, where the new headquarters of Jil Sander and Marni will be housed in 2025.

Sustainability achievements
In 2022 the OTB Group presented its Sustainability Report for 2021, its first publication to present and summarise the results of all its social and environmental responsibility projects and initiatives. The report sets out ambitious objectives, including attainment of Net Zero for internal operations by 2030, and important targets for responsible Group growth.

Photo: Diesel

Diesel

In 2022, with all its brands, OTB joined The Fashion Pact, the global coalition of companies committed to sharing best practices and working together to find new solutions to reduce the environmental impact of the entire fashion industry.

The Group also promoted the creation of the Re.Crea Consortium, founded with the coordination of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, together with the leading names in Italy’s luxury sector, to respond to the European directive on Extended Producer Responsibility with regard to textile waste and to promote research into innovative recycling solutions.

In 2022, OTB Foundation continued its activities to provide immediate intervention on global social emergencies. Specifically, the Foundation was one of the first organisations to respond to the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, welcoming 443 refugees to Italy.

For people experiencing financial difficulties, OTB Foundation opened new Solidarity Emporiums for the free distribution of necessities. It also continued its work in favor of women’s empowerment, with the creation of scholarships, and projects providing concrete help against gender violence.

Growing through digital innovation
Last year was also marked by some significant advancements on the digital innovation front.

BVX (Brave Virtual Xperience) – the division responsible for the development of projects, content and products for the virtual world, gaming and NFT – joined forces with Diesel to create the brand’s first NFT collection, D:VERSE, which, in addition to guaranteeing access to limited series of physical products and invitations to exclusive events, offers the opportunity to join a community that meets up and shares virtual experiences in the metaverse.

Starting in June 2022, OTB also registered around 300,000 Maison Margiela, Marni e Jil Sander-branded garments on the blockchain platform developed by Aura Blockchain Consortium, of which it is a founding member.

By creating a record on blockchain and inserting an NFC tag in the products, OTB has created a fully-fledged digital certificate of authenticity for its brand clients: a tool that ensures greater transparency for customers and enables new services to be offered, while guaranteeing product value over time and making counterfeiting impossible.

A sound industrial model
The Group’s growth and the consolidation of its industrial model were assisted by the continuous development of its production platforms, the enhancement of the logistics network and the full integration of Jil Sander production with Staff International. To boost efficiency, in 2022 the Staff International organisation set up four new business units: Ready to Wear Operations, Shoes and Bags Operations, Logistics and Licenses.

The Group continued to support the supply chain through the C.A.S.H. project, set up in 2013, under which OTB guarantees the possibility for suppliers to request advance payment of their Group brand invoices at subsidised rates. The initiative has grown constantly year by year since its introduction and the total amount of payments at the end of 2022 was more than 450 million euro.

OTB Group confirmed its ambitious organic growth targets and its interest in potential acquisitions in the luxury sector, as expressed in its recently finalised 2023-2025 strategic plan.

Photo: OTB Group

Renzo Rosso

“The year 2022 was very challenging, but despite the war in Ukraine, the difficult world economic situation and continuous lockdowns in China, the Group’s luxury brands continued to make robust progress” commented Renzo Rosso, chairman, OTB Group.

“Jil Sander, Maison Margiela and Marni are extraordinary iconic brands like their creative directors, they stand out among all the others in the luxury sector and their special features mean they are increasingly sought after by consumers all over the world, as the impressive results reported for 2022 demonstrate. I’m also proud of the action we are taking to reposition Diesel, which, with Glenn Martens, is enjoying a period of great visibility and in 2022 was included in the ranking of the coolest and most popular brands [editor’s note: according to Lyst Index 2022],” Rosso continued.

“This all takes a lot of work, but we are beginning to see the results. To meet the needs of the new generations, we continued to focus on innovation, with the projects of our BVX division, which this year produced the first NFT collection for Diesel, and with the digital authenticity certification of a huge number of products registered on the Aura blockchain platform, of which we are a founding member. To win this global challenge, large companies like ours have to strongly collaborate with the supply chain, guaranteeing operating continuity and creating new growth opportunities, while paying close attention to sustainability,” Rosso said.

“Today more than ever we have to commit to cutting the environmental impact of an industry that for many years was one of the world’s worst polluters, and we can only make a real difference by joining forces. This is why we decided to become part of The Fashion Pact with the whole OTB Group and, together with other important fashion brands, to set up the Re.Crea Consortium, so that we could promote solid change across the whole industry. For us, sustainability also means social responsibility, it is our duty to give back to the community part of the wealth we have created and to help the weakest members of society. I am a great advocate of the circular economy,” added Rosso.

Photo: OTB Group

Ubaldo Minelli

OTB Group CEO, Ubaldo Minelli, commented: “2022 was a very exciting year. Once again, the OTB Group reported a significant growth trend. While we pursued our strategic development plan, we also achieved the right level of flexibility to react fast and effectively to the challenges thrown up by the market and the economy. I think one of the key drivers of our success is our ability to work as a team and to support our supply chain, which is largely located in Italy. By working side by side with our suppliers, we have created an efficient ecosystem and a solid production base for our brands. A cohesive supply chain built on long-standing ties of trust is an assurance of creative freedom for our designers and enables us to focus on continuous product innovation and promote increasingly responsible solutions in terms of production processes and use of materials.”

“During the last financial year we also strengthened and consolidated our presence in the regions offering the highest potential, Asia Pacific and North America, and launched innovation projects on our logistics platform, with significant investments in warehouse automation and the creation of indispensable synergies for the growth of our brands. The combination of these strategic factors enabled us to continue strengthening our Group’s international positioning and achieve double-digit growth on all the main financial indicators. This was also made possible by our strong, compact managerial and organisational structure, which not only responds rapidly and effectively to change, but opens up the way to new opportunities towards innovative ideas and projects that engage key stakeholders in the fashion and luxury business,” continued Minelli.

“During the last financial year we also strengthened and consolidated our presence in the regions offering the highest potential, Asia Pacific and North America, and launched innovation projects on our logistics platform, with significant investments in warehouse automation and the creation of indispensable synergies for the growth of our brands. The combination of these strategic factors enabled us to continue strengthening our Group’s international positioning and achieve double-digit growth on all the main financial indicators. This was also made possible by our strong, compact managerial and organisational structure, which not only responds rapidly and effectively to change, but opens up the way to new opportunities towards innovative ideas and projects that engage key stakeholders in the fashion and luxury business,” continued Minelli.

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