Interim Report 1-3/2025, 14 May 2025:
“Marimekko’s net sales continued to grow profitably in the first quarter. The increase in retail sales in all market areas in the prolonged challenging market situation reflects the competitiveness of the Marimekko brand and our agility.
Marimekko’s net sales grew by five percent in the first quarter and reached EUR 39.6 million (37.7). Net sales were boosted in particular by the growth of wholesale sales in Europe and increased retail sales in Finland. Our retail sales also developed well in all of our other markets, and wholesale sales increased in all of our international market areas. The development of net sales was negatively affected by timing-related factors: in the comparable year, a large amount of non-recurring promotional deliveries in Finnish wholesale sales occurred exceptionally in the first quarter, as well as a significant proportion of the licensing income for the year.
In the important domestic market, Finland, retail sales grew by nine percent. Total net sales in Finland decreased by three percent due to a decline in non-recurring promotional deliveries in domestic wholesale sales. International net sales increased by 14 percent in spite of licensing income being significantly below the comparison period, as previously estimated.
Our comparable operating profit in the January–March period was at a good level, in the seasonally smallest quarter, reaching EUR 4.4 million (5.2) and representing 11.1 percent of net sales (13.8). Operating profit was negatively affected by the weakening of the relative sales margin, which was particularly due to higher discounts but also attributable to a considerable decrease in licensing income. Fixed costs were also higher than in the comparison period. The growth of net sales supported operating profit.
We continue our consistent efforts to scale up the Marimekko phenomenon internationally. This year, we will focus on deepening Marimekko’s story and showcasing the richness of our design language, building on the broad attention we gained last year as we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Unikko print. At Copenhagen Fashion Week in January, Marimekko’s fashion show explored the relationship between art, architecture and fashion, delivering a combination of surprising colors and patterns that fashion lovers have learned to expect from us. In March, we opened the Field of Flowers exhibition in Osaka, featuring new floral prints by five designers. The exhibition and the related pop-up stores will tour across Asia throughout the year, showcasing Marimekko’s latest print designs — classics of the future — and provide an opportunity to reinforce our relationship with friends of our brand as well as introduce Marimekko to new customers, especially in Asia, which is the most important geographical area for our international growth.
Marimekko Artist Series capsule collections are another natural way for us to bring art into everyday life in a manner that honors Marimekko’s traditions and strengthens our thought leadership in the art of printmaking. Ready-to-wear and home décor products adorned by abstract floral patterns designed for Marimekko by the Swedish-born, London-based artist Petra Börner hit the market in March and were very enthusiastically received. After the review period, our lifestyle assortment was complemented by a limited-edition collaboration collection with the global footwear brand Crocs, as cheerfully colored sandals and clogs as well as accessories arrived in stores in April. These kinds of brand collaborations help us further grow our brand awareness around the world, thereby supporting our SCALE strategy.
The desirability of the Marimekko brand is also demonstrated by the continued positive trend of our retail sales in all market areas in the first quarter. We constantly develop our omnichannel retail network, as it is essential for us to be in good locations that cater to our target audience. During the first quarter, we opened four Marimekko stores and three pop-up stores in different parts of the world. In Canada, we entered into a loose franchise partnership, a model familiar to us in Asia, in order to further develop our omnichannel business in the country. Consequently, a Marimekko online store, corresponding to our latest concept, was launched in the Canadian market in March.
I want to take this opportunity to extend my warmest thanks to our customers, our personnel and our partners around the world for the strong start of the year in a challenging market situation. We believe that Marimekko’s optimistic and joyful message is particularly meaningful now that daily life may feel uncertain in many respects. Our strong financial position and scalable, low-risk and low-capital requiring business model provide us with the means to continue our success story also this year. The tensions in global trade policy and increases in tariffs, for example, create significant uncertainty in the business environment. At Marimekko, we work actively in various ways to mitigate the negative impacts on sales or profitability.
In the exceptional circumstances seen over the past years, we have found new ways of working and learned to quickly react to changing conditions in an agile manner. Our appealing and wide-ranging lifestyle assortment, consisting of three product lines, our loyal and constantly growing customer base, and our geographically diversified business and value chain bring stability in different economic conditions.”
Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko