Manolo Blahnik, the renowned luxury footwear and accessories brand, has unveiled its outstanding 2022 financial results, marking a historic achievement by surpassing €100 million in sales for the very first time. In a year characterized by a remarkable resurgence from the challenges posed by the pandemic, the brand reported an impressive 69% increase in turnover, soaring to €118.2 million, while pre-tax profits witnessed an astounding surge, tripling from €4.6 million to €23.7 million.
This exceptional financial performance was underpinned by a substantial rebound in consumer demand across all sales channels. Notably, the brand experienced a significant uptick in foot traffic within its physical stores, regaining pre-pandemic levels. Simultaneously, the brand’s e-commerce sales continued to register robust growth, increasing by an impressive 24% year-on-year.
One pivotal contributing factor to this success was the uninterrupted year of sales generated by Manolo Blahnik’s two boutiques in the United States. These include the flagship store situated on Madison Avenue in New York City and a second boutique located in East Hampton. This achievement underscored the brand’s resonating appeal among US consumers, a particularly positive development as some luxury brands encountered early indications of a slowdown in US sales during the same period.
The brand also highlighted a highly successful collaboration with Birkenstock, which significantly heightened brand awareness and attracted new customers. The collaboration featured two product releases in March and June, both of which witnessed rapid sell-outs and generated substantial engagement on various social media platforms.
The women’s category experienced substantial growth, driven by heightened interest in occasionwear and embellished designs following the pandemic. The Hangisi shoe emerged as a standout performer in this category. Towards the latter part of 2022, there was a notable increase in demand for simple and timeless investment pieces, with the classic mule Maysale, originally designed in the late 90s, playing a pivotal role in driving this growth.
Significantly, the men’s category continued to expand, buoyed by a highly successful brand awareness campaign launched in the UK and US markets during the fourth quarter.
As a demonstration of gratitude and appreciation towards its dedicated employees, Manolo Blahnik awarded an extraordinary bonus exceeding €1 million to its staff in November 2022.
In line with its ongoing efforts to fortify its brand presence and drive global expansion, the company appointed Elodie Bougenault as Global Chief Commercial Officer in June 2022. Bougenault’s role will be pivotal in leading the brand’s ambitious expansion plans, with a specific emphasis on the Asian market. This strategic move comes on the heels of Manolo Blahnik securing its intellectual property rights in the Supreme People’s Court of China in June 2022.
While celebrating the brand’s exceptional performance in 2022, CEO Kristina Blahnik expressed optimism while acknowledging the need for a degree of caution. She recognized that the record levels of consumer demand witnessed in 2022 are expected to naturally adjust in 2023 due to various prevailing macroeconomic challenges.
