FINANCIAL TALK: VALENTINO'S STELLAR 2015

Valentino continues its stellar ascent with 2015 sales up a whopping 48 percent to 987 million euros compared to the previous year. Ahead of forecasts, the Roman-based luxurygoods house is close to the 1 billion euro mark. When in 2012 majority shareholder Qatari fund Mayhoola for Investment came in, Valentino’s sales stood at 370 million euros. Today the hot-selling accessories make up for about 50 percent of total sales. Steered by the outstanding vision of creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli , who have raised the desirability and edge on all their collections, and by the sharp business acumen of ceo Stefano Sassi, the house continues its exceptional retail expansion and solid global growth, also spurred by 30 new boutique openings in 2015. Over the past three years, in fact, a bullish retail development has accounted for the higher share of investments.