Prada sees lowest profit since 2011 and focus on digital strategy

Budget period for Prada.

And they are not too positive.

After a bad 2015, Prada has unveiled a marked decline in both sales and profits in 2016, defined by the managing director Patrizio Bertelli as a "challenging transition year".

In fact, the Milanese company archives 2017 with revenues of 3.05 billion euros, down 3.6% (at current exchange rates) compared to 2016. In the twelve months EBITDA is equal to 588 million euros (19.2% on net revenues), down from 653.4 million in 2016, while ebitda fell from 431.2 to 360 million (11.8% on net revenues). The net result amounted to 249 million euros, compared with 278.3 million two years ago (-10.5% per cent).

Bertelli, however, declares his confidence:

"I am satisfied with how we closed 2017: in the second part of the year and in the first few months of 2018 the sales trend progressively improved, thus making visible the first important results deriving from the initiatives strategies launched on various fronts. The investments made by the group, to optimize the retail network, to increase the visibility of the brands and to enrich the collections have been enhanced by an increasing digital presence".

Prada is just one of many luxury brands that must clash with a rapidly changing retail landscape and is forced to modernize, developing an effective digital strategy.

So, the company will focus on Miu Miu's e-commerce platforms, re-launch the Prada and Miu Miu websites and improve the functionality and narration on social media.