Italian luxury group Salvatore Ferragamo's sales down 17% in first quarter

Luxury's new low: The Italian luxury group Salvatore Ferragamo has seen 16.6 per cent fall in sales at constant exchange rates in the first quarter, the company said on Thursday.

"Over the quarter, our performance was impacted by continued volatility in the Chinese market, as well as a persisting weakness in wholesale and travel retail, further compounded by an unfavourable comparison", Chief Executive Marco Gobbetti said in a statement. Revenues totalled 227 million euros ($244.5 million), below analyst expectations of 237 million euros according a LSEG consensus.

Revenues totalled 227 million euros ($244.5 million) in the first three months of the year, below analyst expectations of 237 million euros according a LSEG consensus.

In April, sales in the direct-to-consumer channel were slightly negative, but the trend was improving, Gobbetti said in a conference call with analysts, adding that the revenues in the February to April period for that channel were broadly flat.  However the CEO, who said he wanted to prioritise top-line performance, does not see the gross margin getting worse.

"We are seeing a difficult demand in China, customers are rather worried about the macroeconomic situation", he said, adding that the sales trend in March and April in Greater China was overall quite negative.

Gobbetti added that on a brighter note, the direct-to-consumer sales trend in Europe was improving.

(With Reuters inputs)