Interparfums, Inc.

Greetings and welcome to the Interparforums Inc. 2024 fourth quarter and year end conference call and webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Karen Daly, Vice President at the Equity Group and Interparfums Investor Relations Representative. Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you, Tamale. Joining us on the call today will be Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jean Madar, and Chief Financial Officer, Michelle Atwood. On behalf of the company, I would like to note that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from projected results. These factors may be found in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the headings forward-looking statements and risk factors. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Interparfum undertakes no obligation to update the information discussed. As a reminder, Interparfum's consolidated results include two business segments, European-based operations through Interpuff Rooms SA, the company's 72% French subsidiary, and United States-based operations. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Jean Medard. Jean?

Thank you, Karine, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's call. 2024 was a great year for us, We closed it on a high note with record fourth quarter sales and earnings. Our sales culminated to $1,452,000. And the adjusted earnings before an impairment was $518 per diluted shares for a year, beating our guidance of $5.15. It was also the year we initiated distribution and sales for two new brands, Lacoste and Roberto Cavalli. We also renewed our license agreement with Van Cleef & Arpès, extending our 18 years partnership into the next decade. And we also signed an agreement that will bring the off-price fragrance business under our direction starting 2026. We have also been recognized for a number of awards and achievements this year, but the one that we are the most proud of was our Inclusion in Time magazine World Best Companies Sustainable Growth ranking, which rewards the 500 most exemplary companies in terms of economic growth and environmental commitment over the period 2021-2023. Specifically, our 72% owned subsidiary Interparfums SA ranked number 44 out of 500 among all the companies in the world. Talking to business, talking about business, for the second year in a row, Jimmy Choo, the largest brand in our portfolio, increased sales by 7% for the year, largely driven by the ongoing success of the I Want Shoe franchise. Guess also had a stellar year, growing 13% as a result of a continued robust performance of its legacy fans, plus the initial success of our new pillar, Guess Iconic. The brand entered 2025 with very strong programs and momentum from the fashion house. Donna Karan VKNY Fragrances, which joined our portfolio mid-2022, generated already sales in excess of 100 million. I would like now to take an opportunity to provide an update on Ferragamo. As you know, we took the license three years ago, and the initial focus was to clean up the distribution, which we did. The largest market for Ferragamo are USA, Italy, and Mexico. And very important for us is that we are going to launch a new blockbuster, a first blockbuster for Ferragamo in the last four years. It is called Fiamma, and we plan to invest over $20 million on the brand in 2025 behind the new visual merchandising approach and the new advertising campaign. Fiamma will be the first major blockbuster launch developed with the creative vision of Maximilien Davis, the creative director of Ferragamo. It incorporates the core elements of the brand, especially of the brand's new aesthetic, the organic shapes, the fluidity, the texture, and it represents a true design innovation. regarding the advertising we shot the advertising with a super photographer mario sorrenti and it features it features a top model the top model carolina spakovsky the new campaign is set against the backdrop of the city of florence florence is a birthplace and headquarter of the brand and it expresses the vision of modern community so we have a big hope for this new blockbuster Fiamma. Touching on our newest brands, Lacoste far exceeded our expectations in its first year under our management, achieving over 84 million in sales, or 6% of our total sales, with strong popularity worldwide. We did not just relaunch Lacoste Original, we redefined its place in the market. Through a blend of strategy, creativity, market insight, and commercial innovation, we are transforming Lacoste's presence, setting a new standard in its space. And in 2025, this year, we will also expand the original line for both men and women and the L1212 line. Regarding Roberto Cavalli, Roberto Cavalli met our expectations in its first year in our prestige portfolio, adding 2% to our top line at 31 million incels in less than 11 months. Earlier in the year, we revamped the inherited fragrances and launched a new scent called Sweet Ferrocheuse. We also introduced Just Cavalli Wild Heart and a collection of hair and body mists. In 2025, we have a very important blockbuster fragrance for Cavalli. It is called Serpentine. And our partnership with the Cavalli brand comes at the perfect time with new store openings, widespread buzz in fashion media and social platforms, and fashion icons embracing its bold designs Cavalli Resurgence is in full swing. In December 24, we signed for all off-white brand names and registered trademarks for Class III fragrance and cosmetic products. And in 2026, Interparfums will begin commercial use of a fragrance brand. Today, off-white fragrances for men and women are sold in department stores like Saks and Neiman Marcus, specialty stores, and of course online. Our three largest markets, North America, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific, attain gains of 6% for North America, 21% for Western Europe, and 3% for Asia Pacific in 2024 compared to 2023. The Middle East and Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central and South America also grew sales by 5%, 14%, and 17%, respectively. Interesting to notice is travel retail sales continue to strengthen and increase by 20% from 2023. Travel retail is an important channel And our goal is to continue to focus on brand building versus trying to get quick wins through promotion. As always, we will continue to prioritize our retail and wholesale partners consistent with our established strategy. In 2024, direct sales to retailers, including travel retail, represented approximately 49% of our net sales, up from 47% one year earlier. As previously disclosed, beginning in 2024, our Italian hub began managing sales in Italy for all our brands. This model has demonstrated its success, and we are actively exploring opportunities to expand it into new markets, including UK and Spain. Much of the success we achieved in 2024 is due in part to our omni-channel services, including our e-commerce business, specifically on Amazon and DivaBox, one of the largest e-commerce channels in France. We also recently launched our own page on TikTok Shop, and while it started very small, it has been gaining momentum rapidly, with purchases increasing week over week since its inception. Consumers are growing increasingly confident in purchasing fragrances online, driven by content creators and influencers across various social media platforms who are sparking excitement around niche and luxury scents. This digital shift has not only fueled discovery, but also increased online fragrance sales. One of our greatest strengths is our ability to stay ahead of emerging trends. From the growing demand for premium, ultra-premium, and luxury fragrances to the rise of multi-scent collections, we anticipate what consumers want. We have seen a surge in fragrance use among males, particularly among teens, along with a shift towards gender-neutral scents, and highly concentrated, long-lasting formulas. Our brands are in demand across the globe, as evidenced by increased sales in all major markets in 2024 compared to 2023. We also understand the art of capturing a consumer's attention enticing them to pick up a fragrance, experience its scent, and connect with it on a deeper emotional level. Misengagement, where a fragrance becomes a true reflection of their identity, is the lens through which we evaluate our brands and uncover new opportunities for growth. While the past two years have primarily focused on extension, In 2025, we will introduce bold new fragrances that energize our brands. From new blockbusters to pillars and elevated extension, we are crafting high-quality, highly concentrated scents aligned with the evolving preferences of today's fragrance consumers. With regards to product launches in our 2025 pipeline, we have blockbusters debuted for Ferragamo, as I mentioned before, also for Rochas, also for Cavalli. We also have Fragrance Duo for Karl Lagerfeld and a new collection for DKNY, MCM and Ungaro. Guests will see an iconic Forman in stores in the spring. And of course, we have extensions across nearly all the rest of our portfolio. including our three largest brands. Jimmy Choo, we have a new men's extension. And Mont Blanc, we are enlarging the multi-scent collection with Starwood. And we are also expanding the Explorer family with Explorer Extreme. Coach for Men, welcome the Nod Parfum version, early this year. in keeping with increased demand for highly concentrated, long-lasting scents. 2025 will also mark the creation of our first proprietary brand called Solferino. It is a collection of 10 niche fragrances developed by star perfumers to be launched initially for an ultra-selective distribution channel, no more than 100 points of sales, We'll also open a store in Paris entirely dedicated to the brand and along with an e-commerce dedicated site. With the Solferino collection, our goal is to gain insight that can be applied across our portfolio while also strengthening our position in the robust high-end fragrance market. As we step into the high-end fragrance market, we are also hopefully pruning our portfolio of smaller brands. In 2024 and end of 2024, we discontinued Dunhill, and in 2025, the Boucheron license will expire. Both of these brands represent a small part of our portfolio, and our goal will be to make up for these losses through new brands like Off-White and Solferino, and other new licenses, while also growing our core brands faster. We are also streamlining our supply chain. For our European-based operation, we have historically relied on third-party logistics providers for services such as packing, shipping, warehousing, and order fulfillment. And in the US, we recently decided to transition our warehouse in New Jersey, but we have operated on our own forward. 30 years to the same model of 3PL in an effort to streamline operation and reduce our overhead costs. As our business continues to grow, leveraging third-party logistic partners will enhance efficiency and enable us to better serve our customers while focusing on our core competencies. We plan to complete this transition by June 2025. Looking ahead, the momentum in the global fragrance market continues its positive trajectory, but at a slower pace than in more recent years. We are also facing a range of other headwinds, including potential tariffs, regulatory challenges and currency fluctuations. On the tariff side, We source our components from multiple regions and are actively working with our suppliers, particularly in China, to navigate potential tariff evolutions. We buy certain components from China, like plastic and metal caps. While an increase in tariffs on components remains a possibility this year, our goal is to mitigate cost impact so we don't have to pass them on to our retail and wholesale partners. Additionally, as an exporter of American-made finished goods to neighboring countries and an importer of finished goods made in Europe, we are closely monitoring potential changes in U.S. import and export taxes. Should these costs rise, we will explore all possible strategies to offset the impact on imports, including potential pricing adjustments. While these factors pose a challenge, we believe they do not represent significant cause for concern, as we believe that most of the industry is taking this approach. On the regulatory side, our team will continue to ensure our product meets the highest standards of safety and compliance worldwide, and we are all prepared to navigate the complex regulatory landscape to mitigate any potential disruptions. While we are seeing unprecedented changes, we have strategies in place to address them effectively and minimize disruptions. These include chemical safety, where we are reformulating a lot of our products as necessary to ensure compliance while continuing to innovate within safe parameters. There are few banned substances that are prevalent in many fragrances. We expect that we will need to reformulate about 80% of our formulas and packaging over the next three years. We have successfully gone through a similar process when the Liliale was banned in the recent past. On listing and registration, The Modernization of Cosmetics and Regulation Act, called MOCRA, represents a major shift in FDA oversight of cosmetics. We have implemented rigorous compliance measures to meet MOCRA requirements so that we abide by mandatory product listing, safety substantiation and facility registration. given the focus on deregulation, we are also already anticipating and prepared to navigate increased legislative activity at the state level. To close, our innovative and creative expertise, combined with the strength of the current fragrance market and the depth and diversity of our brand portfolio, position us well for another year of record sales and earnings, While economic and geopolitical uncertainties prevail, our agile workforce and ability to adapt to evolving conditions are key to sustaining our success. I will now turn it over to Michel for a review of our financial. Michel?