OTB Growth Falls As Annual Sales Drop More Than 4%

Italian group OTB is the latest luxury conglomerate to report a downturn in sales for the full year 2024. The group, which owns Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Jil Sander, and Viktor & Rolf, reported a turnover of $1.88 billion USD and an overall decrease of 4.4% in sales across all brands.

Both Margiela and Diesel oversaw individual increases in sales, reporting growths of 4.6% and 3.2%, respectively, although these successes were not able to cushion the stagnation felt by the group’s other brands like Marni and Jil Sander which struggled against larger wholesale losses.

OTB did, however, see a bump in direct retail sales at 7.4%, opening 61 new stores in the last year. Even though sales saw a slump in China, Japan, and the US emerged as the group’s strongest markets, citing increases of 16.3% and 13.35 respectively.

OTB’s direct retail sales grew 7.4%, boosted by 61 new store openings. “Despite wholesale declines, our focus on direct channels and brand strength position us for continued growth,” CEO Ubaldo Minelli said.

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The declining sales could further stymy founder Renzo Rosso’s IPO plans. The family-held group had previously hoped to seize on luxury’s post-pandemic euphoria to go public, but last fall the listing was pushed out to at least 2026.

As shakeups become increasingly rampant, if not expected, across top-tier luxury brands, OTB has not been immune. Earlier this month, Jil Sander announced an executive shuffling naming former Fendi Chief Executive Serge Brunschwig the label’s CEO and OTB’s new Chief Strategy Officer.

Both Margiela and Marni saw new CEOs in 2023 and 2024 while Diesel’s CEO title still remains empty following Eraldo Poletto’s exit after a brief seven month. The final month 0f 2024 also witness creative director John Galliano’s departure from Maison Margiela after a storied decade with the brand.

His departure was finally confirmed following rumors fresh off the heels of the instantly infamous success of the house’s Spring 2024 Artisanal collection last January. Even though no announcement has been made pertaining to Galliano’s next mover, Glenn Martens, a long-time favored front-runner for the position, has been appointed as the next creative director of Margiela.

At the moment, Martens, who recently departed Y/Project alongside the brand’s shuttering after 11 years, will also remain as current creative director of Diesel. Diesel is set to show this Milan Fashion Week on February 26 at 14:00 CEST.