A Burberry Korea official commented that its 2013 performance in Korea, one of the strategically important markets in the Asia-Pacific Region, was in line with its earlier projection.(image:lozikiki/flickr)
SEOUL, July 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Amid the protracted recession in which consumers are reluctant to open up their wallets, high-end import brands posted mixed results for the fiscal year 2013.
According to the Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System by the Financial Supervisory Service on July 4, Burberry Korea’s sales revenue was 239.3 billion won for the 12-month period from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014.
This is up 4.9 percent (11.2 billion won) from the previous fiscal year’s 228.1 billion won. Its net profit rose 2.5 percent to 17.2 billion won from 16.8 billion won. As its salary and royalty payments increased, however, its operating profit shrank 5.1 percent to 19.9 billion won from 21.0 billion won.
A Burberry Korea official commented that its 2013 performance in Korea, one of the strategically important markets in the Asia-Pacific Region, was in line with its earlier projection.
Prada Korea, which closes its fiscal year on January 31, also said that its 2013 fiscal year sales revenue was 351.0 billion won, 9.9 percent higher than the previous year of 319.4 billion won. Christian Dior Couture Korea also saw its 2013 sales revenue increase 5.6 percent to 31.1 billion won.
Not all import brands did well in 2013. Fendi Korea failed to reach the 30-billion-won sales revenue level by posting 29.6 billion won in sales, down 4.1 percent from 30.8 billion won in 2012. Its operating profit also shrank to 600 million won from 1.7 billion won.
Ferragamo Korea saw its sales revenue rise 13.8 percent to 111.9 billion won in 2013, from 98.4 billion won in 2012. But its operating profit shrank more than 40 percent to 10.7 billion won from 19.9 billion won, due to a rise in the cost of goods sold and selling and administrative expenses. Gucci Group Korea reported its sales revenue fell 5.2 percent to 252.5 billion won from 255.8 billion won.
A retail industry official said, “Consumers are getting smarter these days and they tend to buy high-priced goods overseas or from online retail sites that charge much lower prices. In addition, traditional luxury good brands are being challenged by up-and-coming brands, which make it hard for them to maintain a two-digit growth rate.” Other luxury brands such as Chanel, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton do not publish their financial results as they are not subject to external audit.
Written by Sean Chung (schung10@koreabizwire.com)
Business (Follow us @Biznews_Korea)
