Lockdown measures in Europe and Canada impact SMCP's Q1 results

In the first quarter of 2021, consolidated sales at SMCP, parent company of Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and De Fursac reached 223.9 million euros, down 0.6 percent on an organic basis. The company said, reported sales were down 2.1 percent, including a negative currency impact of 1.5 percent. Over the quarter, the group generated digital sales growth of 38.9 percent.

Commenting on the results, Daniel Lalonde, CEO of SMCP, stated: “Over the quarter, our sales were affected by lockdown measures in Europe and Canada. The perspective of a gradual market reopening in Europe gives us a good reason to be cautiously optimistic about H2 2021, not only in Europe, but in all markets.”

Review of SMCP’s Q1 performance

In France, the company’s sales were down 8.3 percent on an organic basis impacted by restrictive measures including curfew, and shopping centre closures, low traffic and continued low tourism levels from January 2021. In March, the country faced new lockdowns in key regions, including Paris. However, digital sales recorded a strong double-digit growth of 55.5 percent.

In EMEA, sales were down 32.5 percent on an organic basis impacted by a continued sharp drop in tourism, longer store closures and lockdowns in key countries from January, including a total lockdown in the UK and in Ireland and long-lasting closures in countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Switzerland. This was partially offset by a double-digit ecommerce growth of 30.5 percent.

In the Americas, sales were stable, with a growth of 0.4 percent on an organic basis, still impacted by restrictive store measures, mainly in Canada. During this period, e-commerce sales improved 62.8 percent.

In APAC, sales were up 64.6 percent on an organic basis with strong performance in Mainland China, up 92.6 percent, on an organic basis including a solid like-for-like growth. Compared to Q1 2019, a substantial growth has also been recorded at 26 percent. This performance in the APAC region was mostly driven by the brick-and-mortar channel. Digital sales were stable. The company said, a strong performance has also been recorded in markets such as Taiwan, Macau SAR, and South Korea.