MILAN — Pomellato is riding its strong performance onto U.S. shores, with store openings and two new collections.
Net profit at the high-end jewelry company that produces the Pomellato and Dodo brands ballooned 55.8 percent to 13.4 million euros, or $16.1 million, in 2005. Consolidated sales rose 12.5 percent to 104.3 million euros, or $125.5 million.
The sales growth was fueled by a 7.3 percent increase in revenues from the Pomellato brand and a 17.4 percent rise at Dodo, a younger line based on animal-shaped gold charms. The company also cut its debt in half to 5.2 million euros, or $6.2 million. Sales at Pomellato USA, its North American division, advanced 28.2 percent. Dollar figures are converted at current exchange rates.
The performance of its American division is one of the reasons Pomellato plans to open its first U.S. shop on Madison Avenue in New York, set for October. Though details are still being worked out, Francesco Minoli, Pomellato’s chief executive officer, revealed that the 1,188-square-foot store will feature lots of wood, glass and screens that resemble shutters.
Pomellato plans to have four more stores in the U.S. by 2010, with two on the West Coast and another two on the East Coast. Minoli projects the U.S. to amount to $45 million in sales within five years.
Also on the retail agenda for 2006 are openings in Kuwait City in May and Turin, Italy, in the late summer. The firm is in advanced negotiations for space in Berlin as well. Pomellato now has 22 namesake stores and five Dodo outposts across Italy, from Milan to Palermo, Sicily.
Minoli said the company is reaping the benefits of having stuck to the brand’s core aesthetic of unfussy handcrafted jewels adorned with an array of colored stones, from quartzes to tourmalines.
“We believe in the brand’s value, which in transmitted through the quality of the workmanship and with stones cut especially for us,” said Minoli. “Since every piece is created with the lost-wax technique and made by hand, it’s obvious that quantity isn’t an option for us. We want to safeguard Pomellato’s artisanal roots.”
The Veleno and Eva lines, presented to the press last Tuesday, illustrate how the company avoids cookie-cutter jewelry styles.
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For Veleno, yellow and rose gold are hand-molded into shapes that end with four claw-like prongs to hold smooth and translucent stones such as amethyst, prehnite, Madera quartz, blue topaz and smoky quartz. The selection includes rings, dangling chain earrings and short hook styles.
Eva revisits the cameo technique with rings, pendants and earrings carved from thick, 12-inch-wide shells, with multiple layers that create a snake motif in shades of ivory and brown.
“I’m aware that we’re traveling down a narrow path with little room for expansion or compromise, but Veleno is the kind of evolution our consumer wants from us,” said Minoli, who is keeping the collection exclusive to jewelry. “Bags and scarves just aren’t contemplated.”