Results of VRG’s brands in the first half of 2020

Vistula: already 35% of revenues from the online channel

Revenues of the Vistula brand stood at PLN 92.1m (-32% YoY) in the first half of this year, with average monthly sales per square metre of floor space at PLN 819. This significant decrease was due to the closure of shopping malls in mid-March and April 2020. At the same time, Vistula saw a dynamic growth in the share of online sales. Online revenues in the first half of 2020 amounted to PLN 28.0 million, a 37% increase on an annual basis. The share of the online channel in Vistula’s sales in the first half of the year was 30.4%. At the end of June 2020, Vistula’s floor space dropped by 4% YoY due to the closure of unprofitable stores. The number of stores decreased net by 9 YoY. Both the floor space and the number of franchise stores remained stable.

As a result of the pandemic, the share of the casual segment in the brand’s revenues went up significantly. In Q2 2020 alone, it was as high as 47% (compared to 38% in the previous year). Vistula core line’s share in sales also went up, at the expense of the modern Vistula Red and the high-end Lantier line. The brand’s gross margin stood at 48.3%, a 7.2 p.p. drop compared to the previous year. That was due to attractive in-store promotions after the re-opening of stores and the higher share of the online channel.

Bytom: a threefold increase in online sales in Q2 2020

Bytom’s retail revenue stood at PLN 68.4 million (-26% YoY) in the first half of this year. Franchise revenue stood at PLN 2.4 million (-44% YoY). The share of franchise dropped to 3.5% (from 4.6% in 1H19). The number of Bytom’s stores declined net by 5 YoY at the end of June (the number of franchise stores remained unchanged). Store floor space remained stable YoY.

Bytom was the fastest growing brand in the online channel in VRG’s portfolio in the first half of 2020. Online revenues stood at PLN 25.0 million (+156% YoY), representing 36.6% of sales. The good dynamics of the channel were due to effective promotions and investments in online traffic. Bytom also made use of the group’s know-how to improve the efficiency of its online store.

Like in Vistula’s case, also for Bytom the casual segment saw the greatest growth. In the first half of this year, it accounted for 45% of the brand’s revenues (compared to 38% in the previous year). The brand’s gross margin in the first half of this year was 46.8% and was down by 5.9 p.p. compared to the previous year. This was due to higher promotions YoY, in the online and offline channel alike.

Wólczanka: VRG’s most online brand

Wólczanka’s retail revenue stood at PLN 48.4 million (-16% YoY) in the first half of this year. Franchise revenue stood at PLN 4.3 million (-50% YoY). The share of franchise dropped from 14.8% to 8.9% compared to the same period in the previous year.  The number of Wólczanka’s stores dropped net by 10 boutiques YoY at the end of June. The closures affected mainly the brand’s own boutiques (the number of franchise stores dropping net by only 1 YoY).

Today, Wólczanka has the highest share of online sales in VRG’s portfolio – as much as 70.2% in the second quarter of 2020. Its revenues from online sales stood at PLN 30.3 million in the first half of the year (compared to PLN 20.7 million in the previous year). As a result, Wólczanka reported the best sales dynamics within the clothing brands in the first half of this year.

Deni Cler: development of the shop-in-shop concept

The DeniCler chain consists of 30 stores located in top shopping malls in the country (9 of which are franchise stores). The company has been successfully developing the shop-in-shop concept. DeniCler’s collections are available from select partners running multibrand stores in 12 cities in the country (of which 5 stores joined in the second quarter of 2020).

DeniCler remains a premium brand, offering primarily formal outfits. The core collection accounted for 77% of the brand’s revenues in the first half of 2020. At the same time, the brand placed strong emphasis on capsule collections, and the share of accessories in revenues went up.

DeniCler’s revenues in the first half of the year amounted to PLN 17.3 million (a 19% drop compared to the previous year). In the first half of the year, the brand reported a decline in average monthly sales per square metre (by 18.3% YoY) due to the impact of shopping mall closures on both the brand’s own stores and sales to multibrand stores. There was an increase in the share of e-commerce in sales, but it was lower for DeniCler than for other VRG fashion brands due to the character of the clothing. The brand’s gross margin stood at 51.2% in the first half of 2020, a 7.0 p.p. drop compared to the previous year.

W.KRUK: a leader in floor space growth

W.KRUK’s retail revenue stood at PLN 133.5 million, with a 16% decrease in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Franchise revenue stood at 7.1 million (up by 6.5 percent). The share of franchise grew from 4.2% in the previous year to 5.3% at the end of June this year.

At the end of June this year, W.KRUK had 140 stores, including 15 franchise stores. The opening of net 6 stores year-on-year resulted in a 5% growth in floor space compared to the previous year.

In the reality of the pandemic, W.KRUK did well in the online channel. Online revenues stood at PLN 24.7 million (+116% compared to the previous year). The share of the online channel in sales more than doubled (from 7.2% to 18.5% in the same half-years in 2019 and 2020).

The brand developed its product range. W.KRUK’s offer was expanded with man-made diamonds produced in laboratories (New Diamond by W.KRUK), a perfume collection and the Blask collection. The closure of shopping malls did not significantly change the sales structure – the company has a stable share of jewellery and watches (69% and 31%, respectively). In the jewellery segment, there was a growing share of gold jewellery, above the higher-margin sales of silver jewellery.

Compared to the other brands of the group, W.KRUK saw a lower decline in gross margin due to the high interest in gold jewellery and watch sales.