Armani 2016 revenues fall, 2017 "complicated" says founder

Net revenues for Italian fashion group Giorgio Armani were down 5 per cent last year and 2017 will continue to be "complicated" for the company, its founder said on Saturday.

"Last year has been complicated, for us like for other [brands] and next year will continue to be so," 82-year-old Armani told reporters after the Milan men's catwalk show for his Emporio Armani line.

The veteran designer added however that the company had "a lot of cash," without elaborating.

He said he thought the fashion industry would need a couple more years to return to previous levels of sales.

The group posted revenue of €2.65 billion in 2015, placing Armani just behind Italy's biggest fashion company Prada, with sales of €3.55 billion in the same year.

Armani's sales in 2015 were up 4.5 percent at current exchange rates, compared to a 16 percent rise in 2014, showing the brand is not immune from the sector slowdown dragged by China's economic deceleration, security threats hurting tourism and emerging countries' difficulties.

The company was founded in 1975 and is seen as a prime candidate for a stock market listing.