Ermenegildo Zegna N.V. Ordinary Shares

Hello, all, and welcome to Amenadio Zegna Group's first quarter 2024 revenue. My name is Lydia, and I'll be your operator today. If you'd like to ask a question during the Q&A, you can do so by pressing star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. I'll now hand you over to Paolo Durante, Chief of External Relations, to begin.

Thank you, and good afternoon, good morning to everyone. Thank you for being here with us for this Ermenegildo Zegna Group first quarter 2024 Revenues Conference call. All the material for today's presentation is on our website and you should also have received it. Just let me introduce the management today on the call. We have our Group CEO, Gildo Zegna. and our group of CO and CFO Gianluca Tagliabue. Before we begin, as usual, I need to point out that we will make certain forward-looking statements during the call. Our actual results may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. which are also subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those described in our tax filings. Please refer to the follow-up statement included in today's presentation. After this boring part, I'll leave the floor to our chairman and CEO, Mr. Gildo Zegna.

Hello, everybody. Good morning and good afternoon. Thank you for joining today's conference call on the first quarter 2024 revenue results for the Dermenegildo Zia group. A few weeks ago, as you recall, we shared how the group is continuing to develop our three brands for the long term and how we are tackling what we believe are short-term challenges in the luxury sector. You will see today that our Q1 revenue came in line with what we had anticipated. I will give you an overview of our performance this quarter, then Gianluca will go through the numbers in detail. I want to underscore that our Q1 results have left me reassured. The Zegna brand continues to show its strength with a solid 7% organic growth this quarter and double-digit organic growth in most markets, including the U.S. and EMEA, where the brand is delivering outstanding results. I'm also confident on the strength of our other two great brands. Once on board traction is only beginning its journey with the group, and some key projects will be announced in the coming months. Thom Browne is opening an important new chapter which I want to provide some color on. Thom Browne has been a critical factor of our success since it became part of our group, delivering sound double-digit growth every year, tripling its revenues. Its superior performance has been fueled by the capacity of the brand to closely engage with its community and capture certain sectors, trends, especially in Asia. In recent months, we have made the difficult decision to reduce Thom Browne's exposure to the wholesale channel. We took direct control of the brands of Brazil and Korea, where the brand is a strong recognition and is performing ahead of the sector. In China, we have reinforced our regional management team. We've also worked on the collections themselves to protect the exclusivity of the highly recognizable products. All these will further enhance Stone Brown's long-term value. While it will take some time to reap the rewards of this decision, our indicators already confirm that the brand is strong and that our action will make it even stronger. Some of the evidence we have of that includes the success of the Saks activation for top clients in the U.S., largely focused on women ready to work, proving the good response on this category and on accessories. The strong response that we achieved on the Ferretti partnership, which we just launched at an exhibition during the Salone del Mobile in Milan. The endless success of Thom Browne fashion shows and the many friends of the brand who continue to be attracted to it, search for it and proudly wear it and constantly proving their loyalty. And last but not least, The brands continue success in the very important Japanese market. Let me also say a few words specifically on China in general and for the Xenia brand in particular. The Chinese market is currently experiencing a normalization phase post-COVID, which is good news. For Xenia, the China market was the last to launch the one-brand strategy. It is also where the entry to luxury offer was higher than other regions. We are still working on brand awareness, client experience in store, and merchandising. But even more, we are working on creating brand experiences. At the end of May, we have an important private event in Shanghai, the first ever client-focused event organized in China. It is by invitation only. and reserved for our very important client, customer and prospects. Alessandro Sartori, Zia's Creative Director, Leo Wu, the Brand Ambassador, and my two sons, Eduardo and Natalia, attend. It will be an immersive experience into the Zia world, into the brand's deep legacy, essence, and authenticity. As we just did in Milan, we will bring Aussie Zia to China, and we also will bring the Oz Ilimo project to Shanghai. We know that what Xenia started with the one brand strategy is a journey, which I like to think of like building a house. The Xenia brand house has stone foundations. Now we need to build the floors. We know this will take time, but we also know that the Xenia house was built on unique foundations that can't be replicated by anyone else. And it is the brand's unique legacy that will continue to foster for its success in China and around the world. Earlier, I mentioned Orsizegna in Milano. Let me use the last few minutes to explain what we did during the Senado del Mobile. Something I'm really extremely proud. The launch of Orsizegna in Milano. During our last call, I mentioned that we were going to take over the city of Milan during the design week. with the launch of Ozzy Xenia in Milano, the donation of the flower bed to our home city, and the immersive experience at our headquarter, open to the public for one week to launch the Born in Ozzy book by Rizzoli. This has been a unique opportunity, increase the knowledge of the Ozzy Xenia and boost the desirability of the brand. When I told you we were going to take over the city, I personally was not expecting such an incredible outcome. More than 26,000 people visited the installation in six days. And we also organized special dinners for our friends, circle, with the lighting moments for our top customers. Record revenue ever between our Milanese stores led by the Monte Napoleone shop. We created also three totes bags based on the graphics of the book that were given to visitors for location of the city and terminated within 15 minutes every day. And we had queues of people waiting to receive one. The totes quickly became a must-have of the Salone, especially among Generation X and Generation Y attendees. Some 500 articles worldwide covering the event. And last but not least, Zegna also won the Fori Salone Award of sustainability. You will notice that we accomplished all this without talking about product. This was all through providing unique experiences and through living out our values and our legacy. In one word, through our authenticity and creating a dream around our brand. As you recall, giving back has always been a part of JNF. It is part of our history and embedded in our DNA. This is what the founder taught me, and be led by example, that we must support and give back to our communities, our cities, and to the planet, and to our home. I think that we have to give a big hug to the team because of this great accomplishment. And I know this is another step. an important one in building an even stronger brand in the direction we have been pursuing since the launch of the One Brand Strategy to make Zegna the best brand in venture timeless luxury. As I said, it is just one step. Others will follow. After Milano, Shanghai will be the second city where we will bring ours in Zegna. And you will need to wait to find out the third. which is already planned. And I promise you, it will be worth the wait. Thank you for your attention and let me now turn to Gianluca to go into the financials and details.