Family business roundup: Prada, Folli Follie and Sabanci post strong results

It’s been a good year for three European family businesses – Italian fashion group Prada and Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding both posted double-digit growth, while Folli Follie in Greece saw its profits rise despite the country’s “severe recession”.

Milan-based Prada, which was founded in 1913 by brothers Mario and Martino Prada, said on 29 March that EBITDA jumped 41.7% in 2011 to €759.3 million, from €535.9 million the previous year.

Currently headed by third-generation Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli, the family business had revenues of €2.56 billion in 2011, compared to €2.05 billion one year earlier – a 24.9% increase.

Growth at the group was buoyed by its strong results in the Asia-Pacific market – sales were up 45% in China, compared to 20% in North America and Europe.

In Greece, Folli Follie, the accessories manufacturer which is 38.2% controlled by the Koutsolioutsos family, said on 29 March that sales increased by 3.2% in 2011 to €1.02 billion, from €989.6 million in 2010. EBITDA was €198.7 million, up 2.79% from €193.3 million the year before.

“We are fully satisfied,” family member and chief executive George Koutsolioutsos said in a statement. “Our group reached historical revenues taking into account the serious economic environment in which we operate, with our domestic market experiencing the fourth consecutive year of severe recession and the global environment showing signs of growth deterioration.”

Meanwhile, on 30 March, Turkish industrial and financial conglomerate Sabanci Holding adjusted the preliminary 2011 figures it posted earlier this year – with sales of TRY22.41 billion (€9.44 billion) in 2011, not TRY22.9 billion, as it had initially said. This represents a 14.3% increase from TRY19.6 billion in 2010.

Net profit at the group, which is 60.6% controlled by the founding Sabanci family, increased by 13% in 2011 to TRY1.88 billion.