Ferragamo sales grow in 2022, but China COVID curbs hit Q4

FILE PHOTO: Zurich amid COVID-19 outbreak
Italian luxury fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo's logo is seen at a store, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Zurich, Switzerland January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo/File Photo

MILANO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Sales at Italian luxury goods group Salvatore Ferragamo (SFER.MI) rose by 5.7% at constant exchange rates last year, with a slowdown in the fourth quarter blamed on COVID restrictions in China.

Revenues reached 1.252 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in 2022, Ferragamo said on Thursday, versus 1.272 billion euros estimated on average by analysts according to a Refinitiv consensus.

The COVID pandemic crisis has hit family-owned Ferragamo just as the company was striving to rejuvenate its historic brand, famous for the shoes worn by Hollywood stars such as Audrey Hepburn.

Chief executive Marco Gobbetti, who joined the group one year ago from Burberry, has promised a quick turnaround, vowing to increase investments, revamp stores and attract younger customers to double 2021 revenues to almost 2.3 billion euros by 2026.

($1 = 0.9207 euros)

Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi, editing by Alvise Armellini

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.