Italy's luxury fashion house Versace said Thursday its revenues in 2015 grew 17.5 percent, thanks largely to sales of its accessories and its cheekier second line, Versus.

While the brand's revenues grew by 645 million euros ($720 million), its retail sales were 28.9 percent higher at 400.7 million euros and income from e-commerce was up 31.2 percent.

Revenues were up 33 percent in Europe, 36.6 percent in China, 26.7 percent for the whole of Asia and 27.0 percent in North America, the company said in a statement.

It noted "a particularly strong performance of accessories for men and women, which represented 50 percent of first line retail sales," and said Versus "had an outstanding year with sales from boutiques more than doubling" from a year earlier.

Fragrances, eyewear and interior designed all performed well according to Versace, which was founded in Milan in 1978 and has seen its Versus line worn by celebrities including Jennifer Lopez and Alexa Chung.

The company had shown "resilience in the face of a tough environment for the global luxury industry," said CEO Gian Giacomo Ferraris, adding that he was "cautiously optimistic for 2016".

This year Versace "will invest up to 50 million euros for new store openings (and) major store refurbishments, including our 5th Avenue flagship in New York and our Milan flagship," he said.
Source: AFP