Van de Velde experiences strongest-ever second half of the year

After a few difficult years, Van de Velde is again in good shape. People are starting to repurchase lingerie after the Covid dip, and gross profit has risen by nearly a third. CEO Marleen Vaesen is happy to pass on the torch. 

Lingerie makes a comeback

After years of weak results, the Belgian lingerie group is on the rise again: comparable turnover rose 19 per cent last year to 191.2 million euros. The second half of the year, in particular, was a winner: it was the best second half in the company’s history. Perhaps thanks to the easing of the Covid measures, lingerie sales recovered very strongly, exceeding even the pre-pandemic year 2019.

Much is attributable to the successful digitalisation of the lingerie group, believes CEO Marleen Vaesen. The digital platforms improved, and the group ran marketing campaigns across all physical and digital channels. This gave a solid boost to sales.

More sales, more profit

Comparable sales in the wholesale segment increased by 18.4 per cent, while sales through own retail grew by 23.7 per cent. In Europe, retail sales increased by 17.8 per cent and in the United States, even by 49.4 per cent, mainly thanks to re-openings after lengthy lockdowns.

In this case, more turnover also led to more profit: gross profit rose by 30.3 per cent to 52.3 million euros. In net terms, that meant a profit of 32 million euros, compared to 17.3 million euros a year earlier. Apart from the improved sales, this is also because of “a different mix and an improvement in production efficiency”. 

New CEO in command

Vaesen can thus bid farewell with complete confidence: the 63-year-old chief executive is passing the torch to Peter Corijn, who has been an independent consultant until now. He previously worked at Procter & Gamble and Imperial Brands. “We are confidently looking to the future in which we will continue to invest in our brands, retail partners, optichannel strategy and supply chain to achieve further growth”, Vaesen said.

“After 2021, a u-turn year, our ambition is to achieve further growth in 2022”, he added. This year, Van de Velde wants to focus on its premium brands, “customised service” towards retail partners and consumers and invest in the logistics chain.