At this time last year, Prada fell into its biggest crisis in five years. The performance figures of the past 12 months have proven that this Italian luxury goods company is getting deeper and deeper, with both sales and profits declining.

In the fiscal year ending on January 31 this year, Prada's profit decreased by 16% year-on-year to 278.3 million euros, the lowest record since its listing in Hong Kong in 2011; Net revenue also showed a downward trend, decreasing by 9% year-on-year to 3.184 billion euros in the fiscal year 2015. The company's flagship brand Prada only recorded a revenue of 2.528 billion euros, a year-on-year decrease of 11%; The women's clothing sub line Miu Miu also declined by 9%; The premium footwear brand Church experienced a 3% decline.

As the brand's headquarters in the European market, sales have declined by 8% year-on-year, with only the UK attracting more local and overseas tourists to consume due to the decline in the pound. The revenue declines in Greater China, the United States, and the Middle East were 15%, 13%, and 10%, respectively. Even the Japanese market, which has seen continuous sales growth in the past five years, encountered some problems in the 2016 fiscal year, with revenue declining by 5% year-on-year.

The financial report explains that the main reason for the deterioration of the situation is the poor performance of the company's direct stores, and wholesale channels have increased by 15% year-on-year. Prada therefore decided to continue the store renovation plan in 2017 and test the new retail concept of pop-up stores. Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of the company, expects to open 30-40 stores around the world this year to showcase new products. "These limited time stores are interesting, not time-consuming, and can also create surprises.".

Prada opened a pop-up store in Paris in 2009

His other counterattack weapon is digitization. In fact, a report by McKinsey two years ago pointed out that it would be too late to develop e-commerce. So, Prada started experimenting with online business from the 2016 autumn/winter collection, using the trendy concept of "show and buy" to collaborate with e-commerce platforms such as Net-a Porter, Mytheresa, and Mr. Porter, creating a marketing frenzy.

According to Patrizio Bertelli, the company has recruited a team of experts in digital strategy. Chiara Tosato, the Business Director who previously worked for the Italian commercial broadcasting company Mediaset, will lead this digital team. Before 2018, e-commerce platforms in China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia will be launched successively.

At that time, Prada men's and women's clothing, as well as accessories and bags, will appear on e-commerce platforms together, with the aim of enhancing the consumer experience while adding products. The company is expected to upgrade its existing official website this summer. "Make the page look eye-catching." Patrizio Bertelli also mentioned in an interview with Women's Daily that in addition to the above improvements, the new official website must also strengthen customer relationship management (CRM) in order to better convey the brand image.