Chairman's Message
Dear shareholders,
2012 was a very important year for the Folli Follie Group. We formed an alliance with the Dufry AG in our travel retail activity and gained a strong partner, who will transform the leading local travel retailer into an international business through its worldwide presence.
After the strategic partnership with Fosun International that has supported the Group with great success in expanding our Jewellery, Watches and Accessories activity in Mainland China, we look forward to this new alliance with Dufry AG, a leading force in the worldwide travel retail industry.
In this critical time for the Greek Economy, this collaboration is a vote of confidence to the Greek entrepreneurship and reaffirms the efforts in attracting foreign capital for new investments and partnerships with Greek companies.
Experiencing the fifth year of severe recession in our domestic market the Folli Follie Group managed to reach another excellent performance in 2012 based on an effective diversification in terms of business activities and regional exposure.
The Group’s revenue distribution by region has shifted during 2012 in favor of our Asian operations, a trend that will continue also in the future.
Our reported consolidated revenue rose by 9% while Group net income increased by almost 5%. These sound results were supported by the resilience of our local activities and an exceptional performance of the luxury division.
The travel retail activity managed to reach a solid performance by defending its margins in a difficult year for the Greek tourism, despite a significant passenger decrease, particularly at Athens International Airport.
The retail and wholesale as well as the department store activities experienced a modest revenue decline and managed to withstand the lowest volume of retail trade sales in Greece of the last years. In this challenging retail environment our Group capitalized on the opportunity, increased its market share and positioned itself as a leading commercial Group in Greece and the Balkans.
The Jewellery, Watches and Accessories activity demonstrated with an impressive performance the strength of our brands Folli Follie and Links of London in rapid-growth markets as both brands are well positioned to continue to capitalize on the many opportunities available in existing as well as new markets.
Looking ahead, there is cautious optimism regarding the outlook for the Greek economy, at the same time we seize opportunities in such a changing retail environment. We believe that our competitive strengths, along with the growth strategies that we have implemented, will enable us to achieve continued financial success.
I wish to express my special thanks and appreciation to our customers, our loyal shareholders and colleagues, particularly to our staff in Greece who achieved with enthusiasm and great commitment in such difficult times for them and their families these respectable results.
Thank you for your loyalty and support.
Yours sincerely,
Dimitrios Koutsolioutsos
Chairman of the Board of Directors