Golden Goose Group S.p.A reported continued robust growth amid a volatile market in the nine-month year-to-date (YTD) period through September, with sales reaching €466 million ($500 mm), up 12 percent year over year.

For the third quarter, the Group reported that consolidated growth was up 12 percent, “in line” with first-half results.

The Milan-based luxury streetwear and sneaker brand’s YTD growth was driven by the direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel, where revenues jumped 18 percent year over year to €346.1 million. DTC accounted for 74 percent of revenues, up from 71 percent in the 2023 YTD period.

At the end of the third quarter, the company’s Directly Operated Stores (DOS) network consisted of 208 stores, reportedly “enriched” by important new openings in Mexico City, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Rome. During the fourth quarter to date, Golden Goose said it also achieved a very important milestone with its first store in India.

  • The DOS retail segment was up 20 percent for the YTD period, and the company cited it as the primary growth contributor due to new store openings and mid-single-digit same-store growth.
  • Golden Goose opened 17 new stores in the YTD period, nine of which opened in the third quarter; this is an acceleration from the first half of the year, which added four new stores in Q1 and four in Q2.

The company said that its DTC Digital channel also performed strongly due to positive traffic dynamics, confirming the brand’s strong digital affinity.

Regionally, the company’s reported DTC gains were driven by EMEA, an increase of 37 percent and the Americas, up 14 percent year-over-year.

Wholesale channel net revenues were €110.4 million for the YTD period, accounting for 24 percent of total net revenues; this represented a 4 percent decline year-over-year due to the company’s strategic decision to continue upgrading the quality of its distribution network and the continued focus on keeping the channel clean, preserving the brand and favoring DTC.

Region Summary
Regionally, EMEA accounted for 49 percent of Group net revenues in the YTD period, while the Americas contributed 38 percent and APAC delivered 13 percent.

  • In EMEA, Golden Goose saw “very strong” DTC growth from new openings and positive retail LFL and digital performance.
  • In the Americas, the company posted double-digit performance in the DTC channel, due to new store openings and positive retail like-for-like (LFL) or comp-store sales.
  • In the APAC region, YTD net revenues were €59.2 million, down 9 percent compared to the YTD period 2023. In the third quarter, the company said the negative trend in APAC mitigated (-3 percent vs. Q3 2023), with a “clear improvement compared to the previous three months, mainly driven by acceleration outside Greater China and South Korea.”

Product Launches
The company launched two new sneaker styles during the YTD period: the Lightstar, which debuted in China, Korea and online and is now available in select stores worldwide, and the Forty2, which debuted for the first time at the Golden Goose Paris event and launched worldwide.

“The Group’s steady growth in the first nine months of the year has continued to demonstrate the strength of our brand and community,” commented CEO Silvio Campara. “Our innovative product releases allow us to continually reinforce our connection to the young generation of consumers, and our retail store network provides an engaging experience for our clients and communities. The Group is increasing its revenues around the world and DTC incidence is higher than ever before. I am very proud of all we have achieved with our Golden Family, and we look forward to building on our strong growth”.

The company reported that Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €163 million in the 2024 YTD period, up 11 percent compared to the 2023 YTD period. The EBITDA margin was 35.0 percent of net sales in the reported period, compared to 34.9 percent in the year-ago nine-month period. Adjusted EBIT was €118.5 million in the 2024 YTD period, up 8 percent year-over-year.

Net leverage post-IFRS was 2.5x in the YTD period, compared to 1.9x pre-IFRS. Net leverage slightly increased due to the growth of lease liabilities and extraordinary costs paid in 2024.

The company’s cash position was €145 million at the end of the third quarter.

Image courtesy Golden Goose Group S.p.A