Dolce & Gabbana’s online sales heading for 13% share of revenue

In the last year and a half, the luxury label’s online sales exceeded 10% of total revenue, enabling it to reach markets hitherto regarded as secondary, like the Balkans region, chiefly Croatia, Romania and Poland.

“In the last 18 months, online sales have grown significantly. They currently account for well over 10% of our revenue, and are heading for a 13% share of it,” said Dolce & Gabbana’s CEO Alfonso Dolce, answering a question on the luxury label’s share of sales accounted for by the e-tail channel during the Covid-19 crisis.

“We absolutely believe [our customers] should enjoy a shopping experience in physical stores, one that however needs to be integrated with the digital dimension,” added Dolce, underlining that “digitalisation has pushed consumption boundaries further,” enabling the label to reach “countries that until now were not significant, for example, Croatia, Romania and Poland, [that are] constantly growing thanks to digital sales.”

Regarding market consolidation, according to Dolce & Gabbana, “Consolidation doesn’t necessarily create great companies, it’s the quality of the finished product that makes a company great. I’m more in favour of a small, high-quality, healthy business that consolidates year after year, fostering a strong relationship between brand and consumers,” said Dolce.

Asked about Italy’s Recovery Plan, and the influence the fashion industry has on the government’s agenda, Dolce said that “our industry often isn’t top of the list when the country thinks in terms of P&L and GDP.”

According to Dolce, the government’s priority should be to “lower labour costs, to the benefit of employees. Growing every country’s purchasing power is essential in order to boost local consumption.” Another intervention suggested by Dolce to stimulate consumption is “potentially reducing VAT on products that have a significant economic impact.”