The sales generated by the Wholesale division grew 16.8%, to 279.1 million Euro from the 2022 figure of 239.0 million Euro. At constant exchange rates, the growth in sales over 2022 would have been 20.1%. The markets that contributed most to this growth were Italy, Turkey, Brazil, China and Spain. The strong increase was driven by the growth in the high-end brand segment, which accounted for two-thirds of the growth of the entire division, and by the contribution of Police, the Group’s proprietary lifestyle brand, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023, offering not only eyewear but also fragrances, watches, jewellery, clothing and small leather goods. The contribution of the acquisition of the Eyewear division from the Rodenstock Group, with its two brands Porsche Design and Rodenstock, was limited, as it was only integrated into the Group in the second half of the year.
The Retail division’s turnover was up 6.5% to 242.6 million Euro, compared to 227.7 million Euro in 2022. At constant exchange rates, the growth in sales compared to 2022 would have been 12.0%, mainly due to the weakness of the Turkish lira. The growth achieved during the year is entirely organic, as there were no significant new store openings during the year.
“The pathway taken by the Group after the difficult pandemic period makes us very satisfied and encourages us to keep on doing better,” comments Ennio De Rigo, President of the De Rigo Group. "The investments made over the past two years have shown their effective contribution to sales. Increasing conflicts in different areas of the globe have made it more complicated to predict and plan international actions, keeping the level of uncertainty high. The continued diversification we seek by expanding globally is allowing us to mitigate the negative impacts of these events. The completion of the integration of the Rodenstock Eyewear division and the further expected growth in the medium-high segment will be the drivers of development in 2024.”