European retail turnover up 20.6 %
Its full-year results will be presented on 24 February, but a trading update has revealed that consolidated turnover reached 198.5 million euro, an 8.8 % increase. On a like-for-like basis, that is a 7.2 % turnover growth. The wholesale division had a 9.7 % turnover increase, which it mainly attributes to the PrimaDonna Swim collection. Retail turnover on the European mainland grew an astonishing 20.6 %, thanks to strong German (+14.8 % on a like-for-like basis) and Dutch (+14.1 %) growth.
It is also the first full year the former Donker stores have been added to the numbers, as those stores only counted for three quarters in 2013. British Rigby & Peller results have also improved, up 6.9 % (+1.8 % on a like-for-like basis), despite a strong pound sterling.
The company, led by Ignace Van Doorselaere, is still struggling in the United States, where Intimacy store sales have dropped 16.7 % (-12 % on a like-for-like basis). Van de Velde owns 100 % of the store since the start of the year and has not denied it might write off part of the value of its American activities.
