Marimekko raises earnings estimate as sales prove strong

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 21, 2018

Things seem to be going well for Marimekko with the company on Friday upgrading its earnings forecast after issuing a lower prediction just a few weeks ago.

In its interim report published on August 9,  it had estimated net sales for the full-year to be higher than in 2017 but that operating profit “would be at the same level as, or higher than” that year.

It now says that profit will definitely be higher “due mainly to a better-than-expected trend in retail sales in Finland in August.” And earnings could be as much as €12 million higher even though the company is sticking by its original sales uplift forecast.

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Interestingly though, the biggest chunk of its profits are expected to come from its operations in Q2 and Q3, rather than Q3 and Q4 as usual. This is due to higher wholesale turnover during the third quarter and higher-than-usual costs predicted for the final quarter of the year.

It’s good news for the firm and is a turnaround from a few years ago when the Finnish business was struggling to kick-start sales growth. But key personnel changes, a more confident design approach, interesting collaborations, and new retail initiatives have helped build a greater buzz around the brand in recent periods.

The re-opening this month of its revamped Tokyo flagship has also set the seal on a much more confident business as it heads towards 2019.