Manolo Blahnik records second-best year despite slowdown in luxury spending

Manolo Blahnik, the British luxury footwear brand that has become synonymous with the Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw and her famous shoe closet, has today announced its financial results for the year ending 31 December 2023.

Despite a slowdown in luxury spending, the group reported its second-best year to date.  Turnover reached €106.5 million, although this was down by 10% due to the particularly strong year prior.

Profit before tax was down by 30% to €15.4 million, in line with the group’s expectations. However, operating profit remained strong at 15% of total revenues.

During the period, Manolo Blahnik laid the groundwork for international growth. The Group heavily invested in its systems infrastructure and implemented a new ERP that went live in early 2023. Looking ahead, the group plans to expand in Asia, North America and Europe with key openings that are scheduled for 2025.

Last year, the group deepened its foundations in Britain with the acquisition of its UK global headquarters in September.

Kristina Blahnik, CEO of Manolo Blahnik, commented: "As expected, in 2023 our performance rebalanced off the back of an extraordinary year of sales and consumer demand in 2022, and in light of the challenging macro-economic and geo-political environment. Against this backdrop, however, we are pleased to still be reporting a strong performance in our second-best year ever in line with our business plan.

"In 2024, we will see a continued readjustment to pre-Covid demand. We have used this period to restructure our D2C and B2B models following a considered decision to consolidate our wholesale network and develop our distribution channels.

"The strategic progress we have made in 2023 in developing our global expansion plans as well as the investment into our teams, infrastructures and new London Head Office, places us in a position of strength from which to grow once consumer confidence rebounds.

"Manolo Blahnik has the luxury of being an independent heritage brand with a long-term, financially stable business model giving it the agility to adapt to ever-changing environments."