Prada Group's Japan sales improve as Versace posts its first numbers under Pieter Mulier

Prada Group's net revenues rose 16% year on year at constant exchange rates to €3.05bn in the first half of 2026, the Milan-based luxury group said in results its board approved on 30 July. Within that, retail sales — the boutique channel that makes up most of the business — climbed 12% to €2.63bn, though the growth was uneven through the half: organic retail growth (stripping out currency and the newly-added Versace) accelerated to 5% in the second quarter from just 1% in the first.

Japan was one of the few markets — along with the Americas and Asia Pacific — to show quarter-on-quarter improvement, the company said. Japan retail sales came to €288mln for the half: down 7% at reported exchange rates (a stronger yen against the year-earlier period) but up 6% at constant currency and 2% organic, with the release attributing the second-quarter pickup to steadier local consumption and rising traveller spending. That puts Japan alongside a resurgent Americas (retail sales +37% at constant fx, +17% organic) and Asia Pacific (+15%, +6% organic) as areas of relative strength, in contrast with a Middle East still reeling from regional conflict (down 24%) and a Europe only gradually finding its footing (+5%, but still -4% organic).

By brand, Prada itself outpaced the group average, with retail sales up 3.3% in the first half and accelerating to 6.3% in the second quarter on what the company described as broad-based, full-price selling. Miu Miu grew more modestly — up 2.5% in H1 and 2.6% in Q2 — a deceleration the company linked to a tough year-earlier comparison (Miu Miu's retail sales grew 40% in the second quarter of 2025) and heavier exposure to the Middle East.

A new creative chapter at Versace

The half marked the first period in which Versace — bought by Prada Group in 2025 — reported financial results within the group's own disclosures, contributing net revenues of €305mln. Group chief executive Andrea Guerra said "the arrival of Pieter Mulier at Versace marks the beginning of the brand's new creative journey," with Mulier joining as creative director in July.

Folding Versace into the group also weighed on profitability: adjusted EBIT margin narrowed to 17.4% from 22.6% a year earlier, and the group closed the half with a net debt position of €693mln, having held net cash a year prior. The company attributed the shift to Versace's consolidation and currency effects, alongside continued investment — including a €403mln dividend payment and €247mln of capital expenditure during the half.

For Japan's own luxury retailers and department-store concession managers, Prada's regional breakdown adds another data point to a pattern showing up across this earnings season's European luxury reports: after a soft start to the year, Japan improved through the second quarter as both resident spending and visiting shoppers picked up. How much cushion that leaves is another question — group-wide organic growth of just 1% in the first quarter shows how quickly the picture can turn if either leg, domestic or inbound, weakens again. Versace's task now is less about the numbers than about whether a new creative direction can do in its Tokyo and Osaka boutiques what it has done for other reset luxury houses before it: turn a market Prada calls merely "positive" into one that grows.