Welcome to the SMCP 2025 Q1 Sales Conference Call. My name is Alan, and I'll be your coordinator for today's event. Please note this call is being recorded, and for the duration, your lines will be on listen only. However, you will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end. This can be done by pressing star one on your telephone keypad. If you require assistance at any time, please press star zero, and you'll be connected to an operator. I will now hand you over to your host, Amélie Dernis, Head of IR, to begin today's conference. Thank you.
Good morning, everyone. Thanks for being with us today for the publication of SMCP Q1 Sales. I'm here with our CEO, Isabelle Guichot, and our CFO, Patricia Despointes. You can listen to the publication via the usual conference call, or you can connect to the webcast to have the presentation displayed. As usual, we'll go through the presentation, and then we'll have the Q&A session. Before I hand it over to Isabelle and Patricia, I invite you to go through our usual disclaimer on page two. I think we can start now.
Thank you, Amélie. Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for joining us today to talk about the Q1 sales, with first the key highlights on figures and business initiatives. I will hand over to Patricia, who will detail our performance by region, and I will eventually come back for a quick conclusion. Moving on to page four, you can see that our first quarter sales came at EUR 297 million, representing an increase by 2.6% at constant effects versus last year and plus 1.8% like-for-like. The first quarter performance was supported by growth in all regions except Asia, which was pretty much expected considering the impact of the network optimization that we initiated last year, and that clearly has an impact on sales.
Other points worth mentioning are the following: the pursuit of a full-price strategy, with once again a significant decrease of discount rates in season by three percentage points, despite good comps and despite a challenging environment. This will sure help us drive gross margin, and in contexts where it's crucial to have a strong pricing power, this demonstrates the strength of our brand in this respect. Our digital share stands at a satisfactory level above 20%. The network growth done by 22 POS during the quarter. This is notably linked to Claudie Pierlot network optimization in Europe, but also explained by the closure of HBC corners in Canada, leading to a temporary decrease of store counts before a new partnership in H2. In parallel, the retail partner plan is accelerating with openings in key markets such as India, the Balkans, and Saudi Arabia, leading to wholesale share above 10%, slightly above 10%.
Moving on to page five, you will see a detailed bridge of sales evolution between the first quarter 2024 and 2025. It is mostly green, with only one red box, which is obviously the network optimization, but which was anticipated. The increase of sales is driven mostly by comparable stores and wholesale development. The like-for-like network is increasing by EUR 4 million and 1.8%, with a positive evolution in Europe and, of course, stabilization in China. Other network evolution growth comes from the opening of 2024, especially in the US, reflecting our strategy of agile development. Wholesale sales are increasing by EUR 8 million, driven by our retail partners. Network optimization in China and for Claudie Pierlot accounts for roughly a loss of EUR 6 million of sales compared to last year. Finally, effects is positive by EUR 2 million, representing 0.8 percentage points.
Page six, you will find the performance by region, which shows that the group has demonstrated the strength of its geographical footprint with the capacity to navigate macroeconomic uncertainties. Patricia will get in more details later in the presentation, but just a few highlights on the sales breakdown. By region, no major changes versus last year, as anticipated, and due to China network optimization, Asia loses two percentage points, and symmetrically, Europe gains two percentage points. France and America keep their position in the mix. By brand, we can highlight the strong performance of Sandro, gaining one percentage point versus last year. By channel, wholesale increases by two percentage points versus last year, in line with our strategy. Retail network continues to represent the largest part of our business at nearly 90% contribution. Before we move to brand initiatives, I would like to take some time on our CSR achievements.
Now that we have finally finalized the computation of all KPIs featured in our first CSRD report, let me present to you some key figures of 2024. First, the product, the first pillar of our strategy. We have improved on many aspects: tractability, use of certified materials and products with lower environmental impact. I won't comment on figures, obviously, that you have on the slide, and rather underline that for all three KPIs, we have improved by 10-15 percentage points between fall winter 2023 and fall winter 2024. On the planet pillar, let me highlight a few KPIs in relation with our continued efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. The main lever comes from an increase in the share of certified and recycled materials in our product.
I can also mention the positive impact of the optimization of inventory management, which is something I find particularly interesting since it shows that what is originally considered as a financial optimization can also lead to environmental progress. All those initiatives lead to a minus 20% emission in two years, which is a very significant step in line with the trajectory validated by the SBTI. Finally, on the last pillar, people, with the enhancement of internal mobility, this is a key focus on our HR policy as we are a retail-driven company, and we try to offer opportunities to our talents to grow within the group. Notably, more than two-thirds of our store managers came from internal promotion in 2024. Last but not least, we are very happy that Claudie Pierlot obtained the B Corp certification. I'm proud of the teams of Claudie Pierlot for this achievement.
They demonstrated a lot of tenacity, but above all, an amazing authenticity in this process. This certification will be soon communicated by the plan with the delegated flag. I will now present to you some key initiatives illustrating our brand desirability. Moving on to page eight, as usually this time of the year, we did some Ramadan capsule for Sandro and Maje with very successful results. Two different styles with nice knitwear and Sandro silky dresses at Maje, with, as you can see, local content activation highlighting our global marketing approach, or glocal, sorry, marketing approach. Sandro and Maje, moving on to page nine, also presented their Lunaria capsule collection designed to usher in the new year with style. Inspired by the Snake, the zodiac of this year, which symbolizes wisdom, intuition, and transformation. The two brands creatively blended Eastern tradition with Parisian elegance to craft those collections.
Now moving on to page ten, the first quarter is also this time of the year where we present our new collection, our next collection. Let's start with Sandro, which unveiled its Autumn/Winter 2025 collection in the heart of the iconic Musée Bourdelle, located in Montparnasse in Paris. Surrounded by the sculpture of Antoine Bourdelle, these immersive works offer guests a unique experience where art, history, and fashion collide. The intimate and inspiring atmosphere of the museum transformed the presentation into a celebration of culture and elegance. Next page, Maje presented its upcoming Autumn/Winter collection in its Paris showroom during Paris Fashion Week. This season, the setup moved our guests around the luggage belt of the Maje Airport. The collection captures the spirit of the Maje woman, who effortlessly navigates between timeless elegance and vibrant and cool energy. Claudie Pierlot, same fall/winter collection.
On page 12, Claudie Pierlot featured a lineup of reinvented uniforms in the middle of a bookstore, a very nice setting in a place looking towards the future with a bold inspiration and combination on the silhouette designed to reflect the everyday life of a woman. Last but not least, there was an important moment for Fursac. Fursac did its first runway collection during Men's Fashion Week at the end of January. It was the first time with this format of presentation, with a balance between a classical wardrobe and some more fashion silhouettes. First picture, for instance, is this example, mixing a very qualitative material with badges as ornaments on the shoulder. Q1 was also, as I mentioned, an important trimester, an important quarter in terms of partnership activity. You can see that the main partner openings in Q1 with first India. We spoke a lot about it.
We opened two physical stores and two websites. It is still the beginning, but the launch is very encouraging, and we have a very good relationship with our partner. We are confident in our common ability to develop and grow our brands on this very promising market. Page 15, other very nice openings with our partners in Saudi Arabia, Soli Thermal in Riyadh for both Maje and Sandro, and also in Ciputra World in Surabaya in Indonesia for Sandro. You can see Q1 was a particularly rich quarter full of initiatives and achievements. I now leave it to Patricia to go more into detail into reading new figures.
Thank you, Isabelle. Good morning, everyone. Some more details on sales on slide 17. With France first, sales at EUR 102 million in the first quarter, i.e., an increase of 4% versus last year.
The group recorded a slightly positive performance on a like-for-like basis, driven in particular by a strong momentum at Sandro. Sandro and Maje continue to gain market shares, confirming their desirability and the strength of their competitive positioning. Meanwhile, the other brands are evolving in line with the group's average. The strict full-price strategy is ongoing, especially at Maje, which has sharply reduced its average discount rates. Finally, the network recorded nine net closings during the quarter, particularly at Claudie Pierlot. In EMEA now, with sales at EUR 98 million during the first quarter, an organic increase of 9% compared to Q1 2024, reflecting good performance in the key markets. All the brands recorded a positive performance on the like-for-like brick-and-mortar network, especially in retail markets like the U.K., Germany, and south of Europe.
Moreover, activity with our partners, particularly in the Middle East and in Turkey, is also showing strong momentum and contributes to the region's growth. Five additional points of sale in the store counts during the quarter, with in particular the opening of new markets through partnerships in Eastern Europe, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia, and also in growing markets such as Saudi. In America, on page 18, sales reached EUR 44 million in the first quarter. In a tough context and against a high basis of comparison with a plus 9% last year, the group delivered a resilient performance with organic growth of 2% compared to Q1 2024. In the US, sales growth was supported by recent store openings. Activity was impacted by the fires in California, as well as an increased volatility in consumer sentiments.
On a more positive note, the average discount rate improved by approximately three percentage points, reflecting continued discipline and strong brand desirability, which will no doubt be a strong asset in this increasingly complex environment. In the rest of the region, Mexico maintained its growth momentum, and Canada, as Isabelle explained earlier, accounts for most of the decrease in the store counts, with HBC corners closed a few weeks ago. In Asia, sales reached EUR 53 million in the first quarter, decreasing by 10% organic versus Q1 2024. The sales decrease is linked to the effect of the network optimization in China. As a reminder, we closed 65 stores in 2024. However, after several quarters of decline, sales are stabilizing in China on a like-for-like basis for physical stores. This stabilization is in line with our expectations, and it is supported by improving retail indicators, including a continued increase in conversion rates.
In the rest of Asia, sales remain resilient, with a positive trend, particularly in Malaysia and Thailand, and a slightly negative trend in South Korea and Singapore. The region added two points of sale during the quarter with the opening of India. Thank you, Patricia. The key takeouts that I want to highlight before the Q&A session are the following. First, Sandro and Maje are continuing to gain market shares across Europe. This shows strong momentum and increasing customer preference for our brands, and we're really happy about it. In China, our strategic action plan is starting to pay off. As you remember, we're among the first groups to start resizing our network early last year, and it starts also to pay off. We're seeing the first tangible results with like-for-like stabilizing in our brick-and-mortar store, a key milestone for our recovery in this very important market.
In the US, our brands continue to show strong resilience. Despite the challenging market environment, the strength and relevance of our operating model is confirmed. We've also enhanced our overall desirability and momentum through impactful new collection launches, as I featured before, successful collaboration, and continued international rollout thanks to our strategic partners. On the AESG front, we've hit several robust milestones, reinforcing our long-term commitments, as stated in our first sustainability report recently published that I encourage you to read. Looking ahead, while we remain cautious due to external factors like macroeconomic volatility and ongoing tariff uncertainties, we are confident in the strength of our brands. We will maintain a disciplined approach to operating margin and expenses, ensure sound cash management, and continue to prioritize operational agility. I thank you for your attention. I will now take your questions. Thank you. Thank you.
If you'd like to ask a question or make a contribution to this call, please press star one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star two. You will be advised when to ask your question. We will take our first question from Mary Lymeforth Burnstein. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Yes. Good morning. Thank you for the presentation. My first question is about China. Just wanting to know, our business recently evolves there. Do you see a new recovery in the traffic? Is there a difference between your performance between your brands and between the different regions? The second question is about your store closure policy. Do you think you are at the end of the process? Lastly, sorry to bother you on this hot topic, but have you got any news about the Singaporean decisions and about any calendar? Thank you.
Okay, Marilyn, thank you for your very comprehensive set of questions. First, to start with China, I would say that, as we mentioned, we're now coming back to flight to like-for-like in China, and it was really the idea behind all the plan that we started last year approximately at that time when we flew to China to start negotiating with vendors downsizing of the network. I think it's exactly what we wanted to achieve. Now, we see quite between brands, we don't see any major differences, nor do we see any major differences between regions. I would say that the only thing that we feel a bit there is a slight, I would say that the brick-and-mortar trend is a little bit better than the digital trend. The digital trend is more volatile in China.
That is very reassuring to see that the brick-and-mortar trend is really coming to a good threshold of stabilization. That is the comment I can make. In terms of traffic in stores, I mean, it is also very, I mean, the first quarter, you have all that the Chinese New Year timing that definitely has an impact, and you have a lot of holidays and some promotion here and there. I would say that we see a slight recovery in traffic, yes. The second question was on the, what was it? On the network. On the network. Go ahead, Patricia. I can take it, Marlene. Good morning. On the store closure policy, I would say that if we speak on a year-to-go basis, we still have about a dozen of closures in Asia expected and around 10 for Claudie Pierlot in Europe.
That being said, this will be partly compensated by a good pipe of openings that we have to go with partners, meaning that the total network of points of sale for the end of 2025 should be stable or just slightly negative with some closures in DOS and some net openings in POS. Sixteen percent SAGA. What I can say, as you know, I always remind you that we're not taking part in this proceeding, so it's our understanding is that early April, following the hearing of February in Singapore, a decision was issued with positive conclusion for glass with, one, the lift of the freezing order on the shares, and two, the custodian bank has been joined to the case. We understand that hearing is scheduled end of May now in relation to the return of the 16%.
That's all we can tell you at this stage, and I hope it answers your question, Marilyn. Yes, thank you. Thank you, operator. Do we have another question? Once again, if you'd like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad now. We will take our next question from David Derrien, CIC. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Hi, good morning. Two questions for me, please. The first one on your full year 2025 sales outlook and the second one on your gross margin.
The first question, I fully understand you don't want to provide any guidance for the full year given the current context, but focusing on what you can control, is it fair to assume that the welfare positive contribution to your organic growth will continue to totally offset the negative impact from your ongoing network optimization plan, as it was already the case in Q1? That's the first question. The second one on your gross margin for H1, you have reinforced your full price strategy in Q1, so this should support your gross margin in H1. I understand you are still in the process of reviewing the impact of US tariff on your P&L, but can you tell us maybe the main initiatives you plan to implement in order to mitigate the potential impact on your profitability?
For example, are you planning to increase prices in the US or maybe changing the mix of your sourcing in the coming months? Thank you. Thank you, David, for your questions. As you know, we're not providing any guidance on the sales forecast for global year. As we mentioned, as I mentioned, my conclusion, we're trying to monitor and we try to manage our coming quarters with a cautious approach and trying to, with our geographical balance and footprint, to be able always to mitigate the risk arising in one area by our potential ability to recover in other areas. That is all we can say for the time being. I will hand it over to Patricia with the gross margin with one point as an introduction because I think it is an important point.
We've already passed a mid-single-digit increase in the US depending on products to spread the impact over the year to avoid having a significant step for fall winter. You keep in mind that it's important you keep in mind that US represents less than 15% of our sales and that the spring-summer collection has already arrived in the US. For 2025 tariff, it will not impact all these products. We have a few weeks now left before fall winter collection will be in store to decide what we're going to do for the next collection. Depending on the final decision, we'll see. We've already taken some protective measures to secure our gross margin, and that gives me a perfect transition to Patricia. Thank you, Isabelle.
Regarding gross margin, David, I would say that the main elements of this H1 regarding gross margin are the positive impact first of the decrease in average discount rate, which continues. This is impacting favorably our gross margin ratio. On the other hand, we have a mixed effect of a bit more retail partners' sales in the sales mix. This aspect of our activity yields a lower gross margin ratio than the average, but as you can imagine, it is also much less cost. As far as the EBIT margin is concerned, of course, there is no negative impact. The third one is about tariffs. As Isabelle explained, we have already implemented an increase in prices to mitigate the impact and spread it over the year. Thank you, Patricia. Do we have another question? We will take our next question from Mary Lymeforth Burnstein.
Your line is open. Please go ahead. Yes. Just continuing to come back on US tariffs. You said you passed some price increase. Is it already for the summer collection, or is it planned for the winter collection? What options have you on the table to mitigate the increase in tariffs? My second question is about inflation and rents. Last year, your profit was partly under pressure due to the rental inflation. Do you see any softer trends on that side which could help profitability? Thank you. First, maybe I was not clear in what I said. We already passed an increase on the existing merchandise in store, so on the tax prices, which means that it is affecting spring-summer collection. The idea was to spread the increase over the year and to protect our gross margin since the uncertainty of tariffs.
We will have a second also. We'll have for fall winter merchandise also an increase. We're still calculating exactly the percentage to be applied according to the tariff uncertainty that we're living through. We are an agile company, and we have also the opportunity as being a pure retailer to be really monitoring our pricing in a very agile way and to be able to react, especially in the U.S. where we do not have any wholesale, to be reacting on tax prices with great efficiency. I think that answers your question. Marilyn, can you remind us the second question about inflation? Yes. It's about rentals increase, price increase, which was quite expensive last year. Yes, yes. The indices on which some rentals are linked, especially in France and South Europe, are lower than last year.
We've been through two years, 2023 and 2024, at indices of plus 4% to plus 7%. Now, the indices are evolving much more in line with normalized inflation of plus 2% something, which is still existing, but which is less difficult to absorb. Thank you, Patricia. We have received some questions on the webcast, so I will read it. The first one is, 2026 will be the year for PESEL reimbursement, about EUR 140 million. How confident are you about refinancing at better rates? Today's sales presentation, and we'll do an update on financing topics for H1, which will be also about P&L and cash.
I would say that an important thing to have in mind on this topic is that the decrease of net financial debt that we have conducted in the second half of 2024 is continuing, which is an important element in the future refinancing of the debt. This is, apart from the evolution of rates, also something that will be an asset. Thank you, Patricia. I will read the order. The second one is the shareholding battle. Could you confirm the timeline for a trial in the U.K. scheduled in February 2026? No, that's a question. Trial scheduled? Yeah. Yes, it's a question. Yeah. Regarding the shareholding disputes in the U.K., it's important to have in mind that in the U.K., regarding SMCP, there is no more trial or dispute concerning our situation.
In July last year, the judge issued an order ordering the repatriation of the 16%. Now the trial is in Singapore to have this enforced. In the U.K., there remains some disputes between our former shareholder and the bondholders, but it's not something that is linked to SMCP. I cannot comment on this because it's not in relation with the situation of SMCP. It's not in relation with the 16%? Yeah. Not directly. Okay. Thank you. The last question is, considering the information provided during this call, positive outcome from the Singapore court regarding the 16% share, did SMCP initiate sales process in the coming months? A few remarks on this one. First of all, it's a positive step that we mentioned, but it's not a positive outcome so far because the positive outcome will be the repatriation of the 16% to ETS in Luxembourg.
That has not taken place so far, and we cannot really evaluate the timeframe for that repatriation. Definitely, the sales process cannot come before it cannot happen before that repatriation. Just as a remark, it is not SMCP initiating the sales process, but it is the bondholders and probably the curator in Luxembourg. Thank you, Isabelle. We have another question on the current trading. Can you give us some details on April sales? I would say that April is, for the time being, we do not it is in line with Q1 for the time being. No specific comment on April. Thank you. We have another one. Can you see an increase of margin for Fursac and Fursac? Is there any catch-up in terms of profitability compared to Sandro and Maje? As I thought you should mention, it is a Q1 sales call, so we do not comment any P&L aspect.
Obviously, there is a profitability gap between our two biggest brands and the smaller brand. Definitely, we're working actively on closing the gap and putting them back on a good track, and we'll comment that later during H1 call. Thank you, Isabelle. I think we are done with the question now. We wish you a good day, and thank you for your attention.