LONDON — Business is humming at Stella McCartney, which posted double-digit increases in U.K. profits and sales for the 2014 fiscal year.
The brand, which will show its spring collection in Paris on Monday, notched a 22.7 percent gain in profit to 4.36 million pounds, or $6.89 million.
Sales were up 11.2 percent to 31.6 million pounds, or $49.93 million, according to numbers filed at Companies House, the official register of U.K. businesses.
All figures have been calculated at average exchange rates for the 12 months to Dec. 31.
The results only give a partial picture of the company, however, and refer solely to the U.K. business and worldwide licensing revenue.
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The figures reported at Companies House do not take into account wholesale sales or turnover from the brand’s directly operated stores outside the U.K., and in growing markets such as China and the U.S.
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In an interview, Stella McCartney’s president and chief executive officer Frederick Lukoff could not comment specifically on the performance of the rest of the business, but said it was flourishing.
“The U.K. is a good market, but not the most dynamic one. There are others that are stronger,” he said.
Stella McCartney is a joint venture partnership with Kering, and earlier this year Barclays in London estimated that Stella McCartney represents 10 percent of all sales in Kering’s “other luxury” category, and 13 percent of earnings before interest and taxes.
Other brands in the category include Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron and Christopher Kane.
Lukoff said the main drivers behind growth in the overall business were store openings in places such as Madrid, Chengdu, Palo Alto and Beijing, and sales in established and new product categories.
He said core categories, such as ready-to-wear and handbags, continue to grow while other sales drivers included shoes, “with very, very strong growth,” denim and children’s wear.
Lukoff said the Stella McCartney Kids business was “on fire and expanding globally,” with a stand-alone store in Hong Kong and a new shop-in-shop at Harrods. A second stand-alone store is set to open in Jakarta, Indonesia.
He said while in previous years, rtw and handbags, such as the Falabella, were big drivers behind growth, the brand is rapidly diversifying. “The vision was always for this to be a full lifestyle brand, and that is what it is becoming,” he said.
The collection with Adidas is also on a growth curve thanks partly to the launch of a second, younger line called Stella Sport.
In June, Stella McCartney unveiled sun and optical glasses with Kering Eyewear, and last year it relaunched the signature Stella McCartney fragrance.
Asked about the slowdown in consumption in China, where there are five Stella McCartney stores, Lukoff said business remained robust.
“We were a late entrant into the Chinese market — we only opened our first store there in 2012, so we are not overexposed. We have seen tremendous growth there, and a strong influx of Chinese customers in all of our stores.”
The brand has an additional three stores in Hong Kong.
Lukoff mentioned that McCartney had done three “tours” of China to engage with consumers, and those moves were paying off.
Asked about high-potential regions ripe for expansion, Lukoff mentioned the U.S. and Japan, where growth is already healthy.
On Friday, the brand opened its seventh U.S. location in Houston, at the new, open-air luxury shopping mall, River Oaks. The 2,340-square-foot store carries rtw, accessories, lingerie, Adidas, fragrance and Stella McCartney Kids.
In November, McCartney is headed to Dubai for her first major public appearance, and the launch of her signature fragrance in the Middle East. The brand has two stores in the region.
As reported, Stella McCartney has also renewed its partnership with Adidas to create the Great Britain kits for the 2018 Rio Olympics.