Geox Revenue Drops 6.2% in First Nine Months, Forecasts Year-End Decline

Geox accelerates its sales decline. The Italian footwear company posted a 6.2% lower turnover in the first nine months of the year, down to 492.8 million euros compared to the €525.5 million recorded in the same period last year. The company is immersed in a restructuring plan, which has already included staff cuts, with the aim of getting out of the red.

Geox CEO Francesco Di Giovanni has cited “market conditions and general consumer dynamics” to explain the drop in sales. The executive insists that “the sector continues in a significant contraction.“ “Despite the market context, we have focused on rationalization and efficiency, which has allowed us to post a higher pre-tax profit than in the first nine months of 2024,“ the company added, without disclosing the figure.

By channels, the company’s own stores continue to account for most of the weight of sales, followed closely by wholesale. While retail stores posted a turnover of €186.9 million, 1.9% less than the previous year, multi-brand outlets accounted for 35% of turnover, €172.6 million, another 6.3% less than in the first nine months of the previous year.

Geox expects to close the year with a drop in sales “in the high single digits”

The web, meanwhile, accounted for 27.1%, to €133.2 million. All channels have reduced their sales, especially the latter, which recorded a decline of 11.5%. Geox, however, which closed its operations in China and the United States during the period, pointed out that, without taking into account the impact of this decision, the drop would have been 6.9%.

Europe, a market that includes Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and Switzerland, accounted for 47.7% of sales, with a turnover of €234.96 million in the first nine months of the year, 1.6% less than in the same period last year. Italy, its home market, accounted for 29% of sales, down 0.5% to €143 million.

Other markets shrank sales by 19.7% to €114.8 million. “This result was negatively affected by the change in the geographical perimeter following the closure of the subsidiaries in China and the United States, which led to a loss of sales of approximately €13.4 million,“ the company again pointed out.

Finally, by product category, the company concentrates the bulk of its turnover in footwear, 91.3%. Geox’s sales of this type of product, however, fell by 5.6% during the first nine months, to €449.8 million. Garments, on the other hand, generated a turnover of €42.9 million for the company, 11.9% less than the previous year.

Looking ahead to year-end, the company expects sales to fall “in the high single digits”. Profit before tax, however, will remain stable, precisely thanks to the cost-cutting strategy, while the company’s forecast debt will be between €100 million and €110 million.