For some, 2021 will be the year of Celine’s turning point. Analysts note that the brand in the LVMH galaxy is very far from its revenue target. That it would be to reach 2 or 3 billion euros by 2023, within 5 years from the appointment of Hedi Slimane as creative director. The pandemic has blocked growth, but this year could be the year for a change of pace. Thanks to China.
Celine’s turning point
The change of designer, from Phoebe Philo to Slimane, was not so painless. At least in the beginning, when some customers left the brand, dissatisfied with the new designer’s debut collection. When the brand debuted in menswear, the best-selling products were not pointed leather boots, but “dad sneakers” and skateboard shoes. Slimane then “corrected the shot” and started his own stylistic path. The brand has thus completed a more difficult transition than expected. According to anonymous sources cited by Business of Fashion, the brand’s sales were growing by double digits in the second half of 2019. But then coronavirus came to block everything and everyone.
Trust in 2021
2021 can be the year of recovery. Slimane did well in the key Chinese market, involving influencers and celebs. And while Celine continues to sell It bags designed by Philo, new Chinese stars show the new models. The reopening of stores in China and the start of “revenge shopping” came just as Celine’s popularity was on the rise. “There are probably some disappointed, but I think Celine is seeing a light at the end of the tunnel – summarises Erwan Rambourg, a well-known luxury analyst at HSBC -. The luxury of managing 75 brands is that you can be patient with some, and I would be surprised if Bernard Arnault pulls the plug”.
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