Luxottica Group S.p.A. said sales at its wholesale division, which includes the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands, grew 14.4% to €513.5 million ($698.4 mm), or 7.4% at constant exchange rates, for the fourth quarter. Sales at the division rose in all countries where it operates, with 19.7% growth in North America and solid growth in Emerging Markets (+17.5%).
The Wholesale division continued to perform well in more mature markets, such as Europe (+5.4%). Sales growth was strongest in North America, Brazil, Mexico, India, South Korea, Japan and the countries of the so-called New Europe.
For the full year, the division’s net sales reached €2.24 billion ($3.04 bn), an increase of 14.4% at current exchange rates and an increase of 9.0% at constant exchange rates. Orders are up in the double-digits from the prior year. Luxottica’s CEO Andrea Guerra said Ray-Ban and Oakley were strong performers and that premium and luxury brands Chanel, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Tiffany and Burberry, continued to recover.
Overall Luxottica net sales for the fourth quarter reached €1.35 billion, up 16.4% over the same period of the previous year, or 6.5% at constant exchange rates.
In the U.S., total sales grew 9.0% in dollar terms, with much of the growth coming from the company’s Retail division, which recorded its best performance of the last four fiscal years. Comparable store sales for the fourth quarter were up by 8% as compared to the same period in 2009, thanks to LensCrafters (+5.6%) and Sunglass Hut (+18.0%).
For the full year, total LUX net sales reached a record €5.8 billion ($7.9 bn), up 13.8% at current exchange rates and 7.1% at constant exchange rates.
Guerra said sales and profits continued to build as the year wore on a trend he expects to continue into 2011.
