The OTB Group Had A $2B Turnover and $1.9B In Net Sales in 2023

Last year was a bumpy year for luxury fashion, but in a report released to The OTB Group, the company saw a 10.2% growth in sales from 2022 to 2023

2023 was a not-so-good year for luxury fashion and 2024 has had a bumpy start. Last year saw slow growth of sales for fashion in Europe and the United States, and in China as well. The latter is typically a strong market for the industry but growth slowed in the second half, according to a McKinsey Report. 2024 will have its challenges of slow growth, continued inflation, and consumers being careful about spending. But even though growth will start out slow this year, it should even out.

On Friday, the Milan based fashion conglomerate, the OTB Group (standing for Only The Brave) published its December 31, 2023 year-end results, which shows growth from its brands, with Asia, particularly Japan being at the helm of growth. “2023 was a challenging year in macroeconomic terms, above all in the second half. In 2023, our direct channels reported excellent performance, thanks to constant sales growth in existing stores and to the new openings, especially in China, Korea and Japan, where we continued to expand as a result of significant investment,” said OTB Group CEO Ubaldo Minelli in a statement about last year’s results.

Diesel’s most recent runway show | Photo Provided By: The OTB Group

One reason why the Group is succeeding has to do with its approach to the industry. Fashion and style aren’t its only focus, as the company’s founder and chairman Renzo Rosso, seeks to also nourish the creativity of international talent that have strong innovative spirit. Focusing on a digital approach that harnesses the consumer, the OTB Group is committed to creating sustainable, technologically driven businesses, with attention focused on social issues through the OTB Foundation. It’s when there is a heart, strategy, and focus on helping others that companies tend to succeed and do well.

Sitting under OTB is Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni, and Viktor&Rolf, while Staff International and Brave Kid companies, along with Amiri brand which holds a stake in OTB. 2023 saw 10.2% growth as constant exchange rates and 7.2% at current exchange rates. Diesel performed the best, while a new building in Paris’s 16th arrondissement now houses Maison Margiela solidifying its positioning in France, where it can make even more local investments. And, the Asia Pacific region showed to be the strongest sales region for the Group.

The OTB Group Chairman and Founder Renzo Rosso | Photo Provided By: The OTB Group

Mirroring Minelli’s sentiments about the challenges of last year, OTB Group Founder and Chairman Renzo Rosso noted in a statement: "I am proud of what we achieved in 2023; it was a challenging year, but our brands continued to grow in all markets, not just key locations like the USA, China and Japan, a historic market for us, but also in new areas like South Korea, which is performing very well, and other Asian markets. Young consumers appreciate the fact that our brands often take an opposite approach to the market, focusing largely on the look and quality of their products and continuing their mission to make fashion a dream. A mission we would not achieve without the excellence of our great supply chain, where we have established collaborations and partnerships, and of Made in Italy.”

Another reason for the Group’s success is the jaw dropping Couture show that John Galliano put on during January’s Haute Couture Week for Maison Margiela- its Artisanal Collection 2024. It has been lauded as one of Galliano’s beset collections and one of his best shows in over a decade, where he is being called a visionary artist. His spring-summer 2024 collection strengthened Maison Margiela as a brand, giving it even more relevancy due to its inclusive silhouettes. That goes back to the Group’s and Maison Margiela’s commitment to putting the needs all people first. 2023 saw the brand have a 23% rise in turnover from 2022, and the Asian rise made this possible where China and Korea increased sales by 72.4% from 2022. Maison Margiela is a brand that is now an appeal to young Asians. In last year alone, the brand opened twenty-four new stores in cities from Venice, to Beijing, Shanghai, LA, Las Vegas, and Seoul.

In a time when fashion’s net sales have been struggling, so has retail. Farfetch with all its woes was hit with a lawsuit, causing Neiman Marcus and Kering to cut ties, while the Korean company Coupang is in the midst of acquiring the retail head. And just Thursday, it was announced its owner José Neves would be stepping down.

But, even in hard times, fashion conglomerates can still do well. And with The OTB Group’s values and Rosso’s vision of putting people first, striving to meet consumer and talent needs, this will further contribute to net sale growth and prosperity of fashion brands, like the one’s under the Group.