Prada outpaces fashion rivals on Miu Miu’s Gen Z appeal
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American-Korean model Irene Kim at Miu Miu's show for its Women Ready-to-wear Spring-Summer 2025 collection at Paris Fashion Week in October.
PHOTO: AFP
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UNITED STATES – Prada defied a luxury industry slump last quarter as fashion fans snapped up Miu Miu’s Arcadie handbags and cashmere cardigans.
Comparable retail sales at the Italian group grew 18 per cent in the third quarter of 2024, the Hong Kong-listed company said. Those at its biggest label, Prada, rose 1.7 per cent, while Miu Miu sales more than doubled during the period.
Prada has been outperforming its high-end fashion rivals, thanks to the success of its products among Gen Z consumers, led by the extraordinary growth rates at sister label Miu Miu, which now makes up about a quarter of group sales.
Miu Miu was the hottest label during the period, rising one notch from the previous quarter on the Lyst index, which tracks searches and social media mentions. Prada remained third.
Miu Miu’s Arcadie bag proved especially popular, according to the index. Its mini version starts at €1,850 (S$2,660) in France.
Prada noted “more challenging market conditions” during the quarter in the Asia-Pacific region, where sales grew 12 per cent. The zone, hurt by a consumer downturn in China, has been a drag on other fashion competitors, from LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton to Gucci-owner Kering.
Japan saw the highest growth rate among regions, thanks to strong tourist spending, Prada said.
The company should be able to name a new chief executive for Miu Miu in the next two months, after Ms Benedetta Petruzzo left to become managing director of Christian Dior Couture, said Prada chief executive Andrea Guerra.
Twin sisters Ami and Aya Suzuki, of Japanese music duo Amiaya, arrive at Miu Miu’s show for its Women Ready-to-wear Spring-Summer 2025 collection at Paris Fashion Week in October.
PHOTO: AFP
Ms Petruzzo’s new role at the LVMH label was announced in early September.
Miuccia Prada, granddaughter of the group’s founder, is creative director at Miu Miu and splits those duties at Prada with designer Raf Simons.
The market could be underestimating the growth that Miu Miu can generate in the next 12 to 18 months, Bernstein analyst Luca Solca wrote in a note after the trading update. But he added he is worried the Prada brand could be “well past its peak growth potential”. BLOOMBERG
