Pasquale Natuzzi called it a positive momentum. The results obtained during the third quarter and the first 9 months of 2021 are the base for any future strategies, as well as any adjustments to make, says the multinational active in the upholstery segment and headquartered in Colle in Puglia.
The results during the first 9 months of the year
Quarterly data for the period closing on September 30th shows that Gruppo Natuzzi’s revenue reached 311.8 million euro, up 36.5% on 2020’s comparable period and +8.9% on the same period of 2019. Overall orders reached 293 million euro, up 23.4% on 2020 and +12.6% on 2019. Gross margin was 36.1% of revenue, compared to 31.4% of 2020 and 29% of 2019 (always considering the first 9 months of the year).
Time to deliver
The company is trying, also with the hiring of two chief brand officers for Natuzzi Italia and Natuzzi Editions, to shorten the time between the receival of orders and the delivery of the finished product. This aspect of the business is further stressed by the additional costs incurred for transportation: an additional 5 million euro were paid for Far-East and North-American routes. Moreover, the brands have had to deal with antidumping measures.
1 million euro was paid in Canada by Natuzzi to be able to import goods made in Vietnam, during the third quarter. Last but not least, the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. “During these 9 months, the positive trend continues – says Antonio Achille CEO of Natuzzi –, in all geographies we interact with. The quality of our sales is also improving, with 87% of sales originating from branded goods, compared to the 79% mark from the same period of 2019”.
Logistics
The delays tied to logistics’ issues (sourcing of materials) will continue to impact order portfolio during the last quarter as well, says Mr. Achille “These delays caused us to deliver less finished products compared to what we estimated.
They also limited our capacity to satisfy the high demand during the 3rd quarter, thus demising our operating leverage. The delivery of orders also demanded the company to incur in cash exits equal to 8 million euro for raw materials, semi-finished goods and other operational expenses that weren’t matched to revenue for the third quarter”.
Efficiency
Natuzzi’s near future in Italy includes the increased efficiency of industrial activities, in line with the MiSE Fabbrica Italia 4.0 program. Yet, some aspects of the new industrial plan are still unclear, including whether there will be some layoffs.
On the digital front the company, pushed by Pasquale Natuzzi junior, retired the 46 different websites and decided to launch a single one for all markets. At the moment, the e-commerce channel is only active for US-based consumers for the Natuzzi Italia collection. The US market has priority, for now, as according to Natuzzi’s analysis it has the most potential for e-business. The website will be eventually extended to other markets as well.
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