Italy's Moncler says 2016 ended well, 2017 off to a good start

Italian luxury clothing company Moncler ended the year on a positive note and the company is off to a good start for 2017, its Chief Executive said on Sunday.

"We closed 2016 well," CEO Remo Ruffini told reporters on Sunday, without elaborating.

Christmas sales for the company, best known for its down-filled skiwear coats, took off after a difficult autumn for the luxury sector as a whole.

"After a hard situation, the skies have brightened up ... we have had an excellent start to the year," Ruffini added, speaking on the sidelines of the brand's menswear show for its Gamme Bleu line.

Ruffini did not give further details with regards to the group's revenue, which was previously expected to have risen to 1 billion euros in 2016. Total revenues in 2015 amounted to 880.4 million euros.

Ruffini added that the in-house online business accounted for 3 percent of sales, a number which doubled if all other online retailers selling their products were accounted for.

The CEO, seen as the architect behind the radical revamp of the brand, said there were no further plans to seek new investors in the company after Singapore-based fund Temasek and Swiss-based travel retail firm Dufry took an indirect stake in July.

"Our company is now stronger to tackle the future in a more serene way," Ruffini said.

He added that "it was a natural destiny" for private-equity fund Eurazeo, which holds a 9.5 stake, to exit the shareholding of Moncler, though not in the short term.