Angelo Trocchia, CEO, Safilo Group S.p.A. (Group), the Padua, Italy-based parent of Smith Optics, David Beckham, and  Blenders, and licensee of a range of fashion brands, including Under Armour and Tommy Hilfiger, said 2025 was a year in which Safilo demonstrated its ability to grow and create value, even in a complex global environment shaped by geopolitical tensions, market volatility, and tariff pressures.

“The quality of our brand portfolio, combined with our geographical diversification and adaptability, supported our revenues and the improvement of all key economic and financial indicators,” Trocchia continued. “We closed the year with net sales up 1.8 percent at constant-exchange (ce) rates, a positive performance to which both North America and Europe contributed. In both regions, the solidity of our business confirmed the quality of our relationships with customers and the power of a brand portfolio able to generate value across multiple markets and distribution channels and appeal to different consumer groups: from our flagship brands, Carrera, Smith and David Beckham, to leading licenses such as Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, Boss, Kate Spade, and Carolina Herrera.”

In 2025, Safilo recorded net sales of €983.4 million, up 1.8 percent at constant exchange rates, delivering organic growth of +2.6 percent excluding the impact of the Lenti business deconsolidation completed in June. At current exchange rates, revenues declined by 1 percent year-over-year (y/y), reflecting the steady weakening of the U.S. dollar against the euro throughout the year.

In the fourth quarter, net sales reached €225.0 million, up 0.4 percent y/y at constant exchange rates and +1.9 percent y/y on an organic basis. At current exchange rates, the quarter posted a decline of 4.6 percent y/y, significantly affected by unfavorable currency movements.

Organic growth for the year was reportedly supported by the strong expansion of prescription frames, which continued to show robust demand across all major geographies. This performance offset the still‑challenging trend in sunglasses, where consumption remained more cautious, particularly in the U.S. value‑for‑money segment, where business was marked by intense promotional activity.

Brand Portfolio Excels
The company said that 2025 confirmed the strength and balance of Safilo’s brand portfolio, which continued to generate value across markets and distribution channels thanks to the combined contribution of the Group’s home brands and its key contemporary and lifestyle licenses.

“The breadth and complementarity of the portfolio, from flagship brands Carrera and David Beckham to global licenses such as Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, Boss, Kate Spade and Carolina Herrera, were among the main drivers of growth, enabling the Group to reach a broad range of consumer segments and to respond effectively to trends across the main eyewear categories,” the company said.

Within this context, Carrera reportedly stood out once again as one of the year’s most dynamic performers, delivering growth across all key markets thanks to the strong appeal of its iconic sun and optical collections, further supported by the brand’s expansion in the women’s segment. Following two years of outstanding results achieved together, Carrera renewed its partnership with Ducati in 2025, continuing to offer design, technology and speed enthusiasts the opportunity to wear the Carrera|Ducati collections.

David Beckham continued on an exceptionally strong growth path, affirming its position as one of the top-performing premium men’s brands in the portfolio. The quality of its collections, together with the brand’s strong recognition and the ongoing expansion of its international distribution, supported sustained momentum throughout the year.

In the Sports business, Smith continued to represent a key asset, driven by the excellent performance of its direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) channel. Despite a more challenging environment in brick‑and‑mortar retail, the brand maintained its distinctive positioning and confirmed its leadership in the U.S. winter sports segments.

In 2025, the Wholesale channel recorded mid‑single‑digit growth, supported by the combined contribution of independent opticians and retail chains, which reportedly continued to “reward the quality of Safilo’s offering” and the strength of the commercial relationships built in recent years.

The Online business reportedly remained stable, maintaining a revenue market share of around 16 percent, supported by the expansion of the Sports DTC channel and the growth of European Internet Pure Players, which helped offset the weaker performance of Blenders’ e-commerce channel.

North America
The region’s 2025 sales amounted to €417.6 million, up 1.8 percent y/y at constant exchange rates, compared with €428.7 million in 2024. At current exchange rates, revenues declined by 2.6 percent y/y, reflecting the 4.4 percent depreciation of the average dollar-euro exchange rate.

In the fourth quarter, the region was said to have maintained a positive trajectory at constant exchange rates, up 1.5 percent y/y, while at current exchange rates sales decreased 7.0 percent year-over-year.

The full year was supported by the solid performance of the Wholesale channel, which delivered mid‑single‑digit growth in every quarter, driven by sustained momentum across the Group’s contemporary and lifestyle portfolio. Among these, Eyewear by David Beckham, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Marc Jacobs and Kate Spade stood out for their “robust and broad‑based growth,” further strengthening their presence with key customers across the region.

Across product categories, growth in North America was again driven by prescription frames, while sunglasses sales were held back by the highly promotional environment in the entry‑price segment. This dynamic continued to weigh on Blenders’ e‑commerce channel, although its performance in the second half of the year proved less challenging than in the first six months.

In the Sports segment, Smith delivered a positive performance, supported by the significant expansion of its DTC channel, which now accounts for roughly 40 percent of the brand’s total business. Sales in brick‑and‑mortar sporting‑goods stores were said to be softer between the second and third quarters of 2025, following the Group’s decision to temporarily limit imports of winter products from China, resulting in delayed deliveries. Most of the impacted volumes were recovered in the fourth quarter, helping to drive a rebound in physical retail.

Europe
The Europe region’s 2025 sales reached €423.9 million, up 2.7 percent y/y at constant exchange rates and 2.3 percent y/y at current exchange rates, compared to €414.2 million in 2024.

Fourth‑quarter sales increased 0.7 percent y/y at constant exchange rates (‑0.1 percent at current exchange rates), which was described as “a resilient performance” considering the headwinds from lower volumes tied to the product supply business, the de-consolidation of the Lenti S.r.l. business sold in June, and the phasing of deliveries to certain clients, anticipated in the third quarter.

Both in the quarter and the full year, Europe delivered a solid organic performance, with mid‑single digit growth driven above all by the continued expansion of the prescription frames business across all major markets.

Asia Pacific
In the Asia Pacific region, 2025 closed with sales of €59.3 million, up 4.8 percent y/y at constant exchange rates and up 1.3 percent y/y at current rates.

The region reportedly saw a slowdown in the fourth quarter, with revenues down 11.5 percent y/y at constant exchange rates and down 17.4 percent y/y at current rates, said to reflect a normalization of demand in several markets after the strong acceleration seen in the first nine months of the year. The positive trend that characterized much of the year was supported by the solid performance of distributor‑led markets and by the healthy growth trajectory of the Australian market. Among the brands, Tommy Hilfiger also stood out, posting particularly strong progress and confirming the brand’s growing appeal across the region.

Rest of World (RoW)
In the RoW region, 2025 sales were €82.6 million, down 4.5 percent y/y at constant exchange rates and down 10.0 percent y/y at current rates.

In the fourth quarter, some countries in the region began to show signs of recovery, allowing the area to return to growth, up 3.9 percent y/y at constant exchange rates (+0.1 percent at current rates), helping to mitigate the weaker dynamics that had characterized the rest of the year.

The area’s performance was said to be affected by the slowdown in India and by lower sales to distributors in the Middle East, a region impacted by rising geopolitical tensions, more cautious purchasing behavior, and the resulting volatility in demand. In parallel, Latin America showed mixed trends: Mexico held up well, supported by the growth of Carrera and Carolina Herrera and by more stable consumer spending, while Brazil experienced a slowdown, reflecting weaker demand and a less dynamic distribution environment, also due to the macroeconomic uncertainties that characterized the market during the year.

Profitability
As reported by SGB Executive in February 2026, the mitigation actions implemented in 2025 to counter significant tariff pressures, in particular the price adjustments in North America and the progressive shift in sourcing away from China, were said to have combined with favorable price/mix dynamics, enabling Safilo Group to deliver continued margin improvement and strong cash generation.

The Group closed 2025 with a gross margin of 60.9 percent, 120 basis points above 2024.

EBITDA margin reached 10.8 percent for the full-year 2025, up 280 basis points versus 2024. The full-year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 10.6 percent of sales, up 120 basis points versus 2024.

In 2025, the Adjusted EBITDA margin excludes non-recurring items, equal to a net income of €2.2 million, due to the €9.7 million gain from the disposal of Lenti S.r.l., and to restructuring and special project costs for €7.5 million. In 2024, the Adjusted EBITDA margin excludes non-recurring costs of €13.2 million, mainly related to a terminated license agreement and certain special and restructuring projects.

Outlook
For 2026, amid the ongoing challenges and complexities of the geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, which the company expects will continue to influence top-line growth opportunities, Safilo Group said it remains focused on its strategic drivers to develop the business both organically and through selective acquisitions. The company believes it is well-positioned to continue strengthening profitability and cash generation, consolidating its ability to create sustainable long-term value.

Image courtesy Smith/Safilo Group S.p.A.