Wormland acquisition to boost revenues at Ludwig Beck

The Munich fashion group Ludwig Beck closed the first half-year of 2015 with gross sales of 56.8 million euros (62.1 million dollars) compared to 44.8 million euros (49 million dollars), of which 11.2 million euros (12.2 million dollars) were attributable to the Wormland segment. On a like-for-like basis gross sales totaled 45.6 million euros (49.9 million dollars). The dominant event in the second quarter was the acquisition of 100 percent shares in Wormland, a men’s fashion retailer based in Hanover.

The flagship store at Marienplatz in Munich made the largest contribution to sales with like-for-like sales up 1.5 percent. Not only the brick-and-mortar business underwent a favorable development, but also the online shop at Ludwigbeck.de was able to further pursue its growth course. The gross profit amounted to 23.3 million euros (25.4 million dollars) against 18.3 million euros (20 million dollars) in the previous year. Wormland contributed a share of 4.8 million euros (5.2 million dollars) to this result. The gross profit margin was 48.9 percent in aggregate.

The management of Ludwig Beck expects the acquisition of Wormland to enable the company to show a strong presence in the overall German market in the future as a provider of high-end men’s fashion and to attract new groups of buyers. On the basis of the latest developments, the executive board re-adjusted its sales expectancy for 2015 at group level. The quarterly forecast still anticipated an increase in sales between 2 percent to 4 percent and EBIT in the amount of approximately 10 million euros (10.9 million dollars). With the acquisition of Wormland, the management is now expects sales in the range of 158 million euros (172.8 million dollars) – 163 million euros (178.3 million dollars) on account of non-recurring effects EBIT expected to rise to 17 million euros (18.6 million dollars) – 19 million euros (20.7 million dollars).