Andrea Guerra, CEO of the Prada group, has held a conference call with analysts on the group’s financial results for the first nine months of the year, in which the group posted a revenue of over €4 billion, up 9%.

“We have entered the fourth quarter and, as usual, the last six weeks of the year become crucial. Our products have performed well in the first four weeks of October. Miu Miu is proceeding along its path of gradual long-term normalisation,” said Guerra.

Asked about Versace, and the completion of last April’s acquisition, Guerra said that “the transition is not yet complete, we’re waiting for regulatory approvals within the next fortnight.”

To the question of whether he’d be willing to consider making an offer for Armani if L’Oréal, the Prada group’s beauty partner, wanted to acquire Armani and was looking for a partner to run the luxury label’s fashion division, Guerra replied: “We haven’t been invited, so to speak. I don’t think that’s going to happen. We’ve always kept a global lookout for other labels. We have a lot of respect for that brand but I don’t think this question is realistic today.”

As for China, “the worst is over,” said Guerra, commenting on the situation in the country, where Prada has a strong presence. “I fear that in future we won’t see the same growth rates we have seen in the last decade,” he added.

“We need to regularly work on different pricepoints and various product segments, understand, season after season, how we can move from one level of prices to another, how to introduce new products, and how to elevate mid-market products,” said Guerra.

“There’s one area where I believe that, in the past, we haven’t been daring enough, and that is the high-end segment,” said Guerra. “We are credible in that segment, and we’re proving it. Last week, we presented our ‘Couleur Vivante’ high-end jewellery collection in New York to exceptional success, even many of us were surprised.” This, Guerra noted, “shows that we need to be bolder, more determined, because consumers are ready to welcome us at those pricing levels too, and we need to be able to respond with an adequate assortment.”

With Adnkronos