- Brunello Cucinelli posted an estimate-beating 10.7% rise in first half sales as the super-rich shrug off tariff concerns.
- The retailer also pointed to a solid start to July and confirmed its outlook for around 10% sales growth in 2025 and 2026.
- Analysts, however, expressed doubt over broad-based growth for the beleaguered sector.
Rising sales at a high-end Italian fashion brandBrunello Cucinelli suggests that while smaller luxury firms struggle, the ultra-wealthy are ignoring tariff worries.
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Following Thursday’s market close, the upscale shop reported an estimated 10.7% increase in first-half sales at constant exchange rates, demonstrating the continued high demand for its $2,000 cashmere sweaters and “quiet luxury” style.
Jefferies reported preliminary second-quarter revenues of 342.6 million euros ($400.5 million), exceeding the 341.4 million projected. The company called the results “industry-topping.”
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Brunello Cucinelli’s “ability to drive [double-digit] growth across all regions will come as of little surprise,” the analyst wrote in a report on Thursday.
“These results highlight resilience and on-going, sector leading momentum,” analysts from RBC Capital Markets continued.
Additionally, the company reported a strong start to July and reaffirmed its prediction of a 10% increase in revenue in 2025 and 2026.
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When second-quarter earnings begin in earnest next week with Cartier-owner Richemont, the results provide an early indication of the luxury sector’s future.
Analysts, however, questioned whether the struggling industry would see widespread expansion because President Donald Trump’s intermittent tariffs could reduce consumer spending, even at the highest levels.
European luxury brands Hermesall, LVMH, Kering, Monaco, and Richemont saw a decline in trading on Friday. Brunello Cucinelli began the session in the green, but he also swung lower.
Due to its reliance on specialized, localized manufacture, the luxury market is anticipated to be severely impacted by U.S. import taxes. Businesses have identified any related macroeconomic decline and a lowering of consumer confidence as a major worry in the interim.
The executive chairman and creative director of the company’s name, Brunello Cucinelli, called the tariff threat “extraordinary” on Thursday and said it required “utmost attention.” However, he stated that the business was concentrating on its sphere of influence.
He said, “Each of us should commit even more deeply to changing what can be changed, and to accepting that which lies beyond our control,” in a statement released alongside the findings.
It appears that price increases will be part of that for the luxury brand.
Due to increased import duties, the company stated that it intends to hike U.S. prices by around 3% to 4% in the second half of the year. According to Jefferies, that comes after global price increases of 3% to 3.5% in the first half.
The Italian fashion brand has reported many quarters of strong growth, demonstrating its ability to pass costs on to customers even during difficult times. It’s yet unclear if other businesses will be able to do the same.
“[Brunello Cucinelli] screens very well relative to peers amid the sector’s downside risk to margins,” UBS said in a note on Friday.
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