VRG targets one billion sales in 2021

VRG Group today published its financial data after the three quarters of 2021. (IFRS16)

• Sales: PLN 721.1m (+16% y/y)

• Net profit (loss): PLN 26.5m (with a loss of PLN 26m in 9M2020)

• Gross margin: 52.2 per cent. (+4.2 p.p. y/y)

• Selling and general administrative expenses (SG&A): PLN 325.0 million (+10.2 p.p. y/y)

• Chain: 552 shops (-14 y/y) in 106 cities, 152 franchise shops (+7 y/y), 52,000 m2 of space (-1% y/y)

• Online: 19.6% share of sales (-4.6 p.p. y/y) - due to increase in offline traffic

Cracow, 17 November 2021 r. VRG's board announces that in 2021 the sales of this clothing and jewellery group should exceed PLN 1 billion. This would be a result similar to 2019 - a record year in terms of revenue in the Group's history. This ambitious goal is within the company's reach thanks to positive trends in sales and profitability, recorded across all brands, and good preparation for the fourth key trading quarter.

„We have had a very strong third quarter in which we achieved sales increases for all brands, with record revenues in the jewellery segment. We also improved store EBIT and gross margin on sales. We are very pleased with the balance we have managed to build over the past few months between sales of formal, casual and accessories collections. The figures for October and mid-November show that we are not losing momentum - despite slightly lower traffic in shopping malls due to the worsening pandemic situation. We are stocked and prepared to serve customers during the crucial Christmas and New Year period” – emphasises Radosław Jakociuk, Vice President of VRG responsible for operations and brand divisions.

In the clothing segment, the Group wants to fight for the result with an increasingly expanded women's offer (in the Wólczanka and Vistula brands) and Christmas and New Year's Eve collections. In this extremely important period for the jewellery industry, W.KRUK will offer clients a wide range of gold and silver jewellery (including an assortment from Magda Mołek's ambassador collection) and an extended offer of luxury watches.

On the occasion of the publication of its third-quarter results, the company reiterated its previously announced objectives for the year, including a 20% share of e-commerce in sales, a year-on-year improvement in financial performance, maintaining cost efficiency and a secure liquidity position.

Strong quarter for VRG

In the third quarter of this year VRG generated a net profit of PLN 23.7 million, compared to PLN 5.7 million last year. After nine months of this year, the Group's net profit amounted to PLN 26.5 million (compared to a loss of PLN 26 million in the same period last year). The result was stimulated by increased demand for clothing, good sales of jewellery and luxury watches and, above all, effective margin building, thanks to a consistent price and promotion management policy implemented from the beginning of 2021.

Sales in the third quarter of the year were 22.3 per cent higher than a year earlier and reached PLN 305 million. At the end of October, the cumulative sales value of the VRG Group

in the current year amounted to PLN 804.1 million (+19.1 per cent year-on-year).

Over the nine months of 2021, VRG increased its margin by 4.2 p.p. (reaching 52.2 per cent.), driven primarily by lower promotions implemented across all brands. The company successfully protected the margin during the summer sales season, only to then strengthen it with well-received collections for the autumn-winter season. In the third quarter, the year-on-year increase in margin was 4.5 p.p., which allowed the result to reach 53.5 per cent.

„We are pleased with the results delivered by our consistent margin work. A cautious approach to promotions and discounts combined with very well received collections is our way of increasing efficiency and building a good bottom line” – Michał Zimnicki comments.

As the CFO and vice-president of VRG points out, the Group can also boast a very good financial position at the end of the third quarter, with record low net debt (PLN 31.4m at the end of 3Q21, down 64.3% y/y) and stable operating cash flows.

Very good reception of new collections

The beneficiaries of the return of customer traffic to the offline channel in the third quarter were primarily the Vistula and BYTOM brands. Both surpassed the third quarter 2019 result (the last corresponding period before the pandemic) in terms of revenue and recorded double-digit growth in sales per m2. A significant increase in revenue per m2 was also generated by the Deni Cler brand, where sales of the classic collection grew significantly compared to 2020. The revenue of Wólczanka, which remains the Group's largest online brand (44.7 per cent e-commerce share), increased by almost a third.

„Wólczanka is today most advanced in its transformation towards a universal, total look brand model, with an assortment for women and for men, with a wide selection of clothing and accessories for everyday use. We are very pleased with the changes to this brand, both in terms of the product range and the chain, which is evolving towards a new concept. We are aiming to operate the brand in larger stores which will allow us to display the whole range of Wólczanka products” – Radosław Jakociuk comments.

And he emphasises that the development of collections for women, as a new segment of customers, is also an important element of the plan for further growth of the Vistula brand.

The jewellery segment generated very strong results. W.KRUK recorded impressive quarterly retail revenues in July-September (PLN 134.8m, +31.8 per cent year-on-year). Thus, the brand surpassed the sales result of the last quarter of 2019 (when revenues amounted to PLN 123 million). The brand's sales grew in stationary stores, which reflected the turnover in the online channel (-9 percent y/y). The share of luxury watches relative to jewellery also increased, thanks to the favourable impact of exclusive sales of luxury brands Rolex and Patek Philippe luxury brands.

2022 under the motto of omnichannel

For 2022, as part of its further evolution to an omnichannel model, VRG has announced changes in the sales network. In addition to the new Wólczanka format (being developed from May 2021), still December this year, a new concept of Vistula stores is also to appear. They will be larger and are expected to allow for an attractive display of the brand's entire extended offer - including the women's collection. Next year, the retail space should increase by about 4% y/y.

In 2022, all brands are to have mobile sales applications in place, with loyalty systems linking online and offline customer activities. Virtual fitting rooms will appear in the e-shops of the clothing segment to facilitate sizing.

After a period of intensive investment in its own e-shops, the Group also plans to further develop its cooperation with the leading external e-commerce platforms in the fashion industry. The assortment of the Group's brands is today available to customers of, among others. The assortment of the Group's brands is now available to customers of Zalando, Modivo, Limango and Peek&Cloppenburg on a total of several dozen markets outside Poland. Later this year, the Group wants to establish cooperation with new partners and expand sales to other countries, including Russia.

„Our ambition for 2022 is to maintain double-digit sales growth, increase retail space through the opening of larger stores, further improve gross margin, increase operating margin and maintain a secure liquidity position” - emphasises Michał Zimnicki.

The VRG Group's planned capital expenditure for 2022, including expenditure on network and IT development, is approximately PLN 38 million.

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VRG S.A. (former name Vistula Group S.A.) has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 1993. The VRG S.A. Capital Group specializes in the design and distribution of high quality fashion collections for men and women and jewelry. It owns highly recognizable trademarks in five main lines: Vistula, Bytom, Wólczanka, Deni Cler Milano (DCG S.A.) and the oldest jewelry brand in Poland W.KRUK (W.KRUK S.A.). The VRG S.A. Capital Group focuses on brand management, design of clothing and jewelry and development of its own sales network in both main segments (clothing and jewelry). Since 2000, the basis of VRG S.A.'s strategy has been to realize the vision of a "House of Brands" and a distributor in the retail market.