Ermenegildo Zegna Group Q1 2026 Earnings Call - DTC Momentum Masks Strategic Wholesale Retreat and Middle East Headwinds

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: Good afternoon, good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining the Ermenegildo Zegna Group first quarter 2026 revenues call. Please note that today’s material and presentation are available under the zegnagroup.com website. Before we begin, we need to point out that the team will make certain forward-looking statements during the call. The group actual results may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Also, these statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those described in our SEC filings. Please refer to the Forward-looking statements cautionary statement included at page 2 of today’s presentation. I’ll now hand over to Paola Durante, Chief of External Relations and Sustainability.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you. Thank you, operator, and good morning, good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to our 1st quarter 2026 revenue call. Today, I’m joined by our group CEO, Gianluca Tagliabue, who will lead our call shortly. I will begin with a brief comment on our Q1 revenues before handing the floor to Gianluca. Let’s therefore move directly to page 7 of the presentation. As always, you know, I will comment on organic revenue trend, because, you know, they better reflect the underlying business dynamics, excluding foreign exchange impacts. Q1 2026, the group reported EUR 470 million in revenues, which is up 7%, marking a sequential acceleration compared to the previous quarter.

The performance was boosted by the DTC channel, which was up 14% at group level, with remarkable results across all the 3 brands. Growth was positive in all regions, led by Americas with a nice 17% growth and a positive GCR, Greater China Region, at plus 5%. Let’s turn to page 8, where I will focus on the performance by brand. Zegna recorded in the quarter EUR 310 million, up 11% in sequential improvement compared to Q4 last year. This improvement has been driven by a solid DTC performance, which was solid across all regions.

Thom Browne, EUR 58 million revenues in Q1, reported a 3% decline, which is a combination of a strong DTC performance, which was up double digits, which has been offset by the contraction in the wholesale channel. TOM FORD FASHION, EUR 68 million in revenues, plus 5% organic, also in this case, boosted by DTC. Very quick, on the textile, performance was +3%, which reflects an ongoing soft demand in the sector. I will not focus on other revenues that, you know, are an increasing marginal business, so quarter-on-quarter percentage are not meaningful. Directly on page 9, I will look at the revenues by geographic area. EMEA first. EMEA in the quarter represented 33% of our group revenues, up 1% with DTC solidly up across, sorry, all brands.

This strong DTC performance has been counterbalanced by the decline in those sales. The Americas in the quarter represented 29% of group revenues and recorded, as I already mentioned, a 17% growth in acceleration, boosted by double-digit growth across all the 3 brands. Greater China region, 26% of group revenues in the quarter and reported a positive +5% increase with a positive contribution from DTC at all brands. Finally, rest of APAC, which you know for us is a smaller region, 12% of group revenues, has reported 8% growth, driven by particularly Korea and Japan. That has been solidly positive across all the 3 brands. Page 10, not much comments here, just a couple of numbers, if I may.

The first one is, which I would like to underline, the DTC channel performance in the first quarter, plus 14% at group level. The fact that DTC now accounts for 85% of our group branded revenue. As you know, branded revenues exclude the textile and other revenues, which are by nature B2B businesses. Wholesaler performance continues to reflect the decision, our decision to improve the quality of the network and to protect our icons. Let’s now move to Zegna brand, page 11. In the first quarter of 2026, Zegna DTC revenues, which accounted for 88% of brand revenues, sequentially accelerated compared to the previous quarter and fostered a 14% organic growth. This performance was led by continued strong double-digit growth in the Americas and in EMEA.

EMEA in particular, with strong contribution of both tourists and locals. Rest of APAC and Greater China region improved sequentially with the Chinese cluster that has turned positive in the quarter. At the end of March, the brand reduced its network by three direct operating stores. Looking at wholesale, the Zegna revenues were down 5%. The performance is a reflection of the decision to reduce the brand exposure to this channel to protect exclusivity and iconicity. Thom Browne at page 12. In the first quarter of this year, Thom Browne reported a 20% DTC growth in acceleration, also thanks to the successful launch in March of a limited edition of sneakers in collaboration with ASICS. This launch boosted revenues worldwide and drove both existing and new customers to the stores.

It has been an important driver of the brand’s Q1 performance, DTC performance, but not the only one. In terms of store network, in the quarter, Thom Browne opened 2 DOS. On the wholesale, as you see, the wholesale channel reported a 59% decline, which is a continuous reflection of the decision to tighten control over distribution and enhance the quality of the channel. This performance, though, has been also partially impacted by a different timing in deliveries, with some shifts from Q1 to Q2 2026 versus last year. First quarter trend should not be taken as a proxy for full year. As already anticipated in our previous call, we expect that Thom Browne wholesale in 2026 will be down double digit, but less than what we have seen in the 1st quarter this year.

Tom Ford Fashion, let’s move to page 13. Tom Ford Fashion recorded a flat 9% growth in DTC, which has been driven by a consistent growth, a consistent performance across all regions, in particular in the Americas, that, you know, is the most important market for the brand, also benefiting from the success of the new spring collection. This good brand, very good brand momentum has also been further supported by the show in Paris that you remember was a successful show in March this year. During the quarter, Tom Ford Fashion opened 2 Doers, the direct operating stores. Wholesale declined 3%, just a normal reflection of our decision to focus on the DTC channel. Page 14, you can find a summary of the group store network, not much to add.

Before leaving the floor to Gianluca, let me today take a moment to highlight our main 2025 sustainability achievements. Full details of that and on our sustainability report you can find on our website. In 2025, we reached some important goals in sustainability. I’m not going to rank all, but let’s say I would like to highlight 4 of them. The first one is that at group level, 42% of top priority raw material has been sourced from traceable and lower impact sources. This is a very good result, I would say. Actually, we aim in 2026 to reach to grow further this percentage to 50%.

We also reached last year the gender equality certification for the Italian entities of Zegna brand, and also we have been included in the A-list recognition in the CDP climate. Last, but very important, let me mention also a project that goes beyond sustainability, but it does embrace our legacy a unique know-how. In 2025, our internal academy, we call it the Accademia dei Maestri, trained more than 50 Maestri, craftspeople, which has a distinctive expertise, and we prepare them to pass their knowledge on to future generations. A very important project, which is really part of our legacy and of our, included in our values. With this, I hand over to Gianluca for his final remarks.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Thank you, Paola. Before we move to the Q&A, I would like to share a few final remarks. Let me begin with a brief update on the main recent projects and events across our three brands. I would like to start today with Thom Browne and comment on the recent Thom Browne ASICS launch. As Paola already mentioned, in early March, the brand introduced a three-color limited edition sneaker, which resonated strongly among both existing and new clients. This was a relevant contributor to the DTC growth in the quarter. This successful launch reflects not only a strong creative project, but also a solid go-to-market execution. Now, we aim to leverage this momentum and the launch as else recruiting new clients. Our goal is to make them, or at least a portion of them, Thom Browne repeat clients.

We see jersey and knitwear as the expected second purchase items in the journey to make them loyal customers of the brand. We will soon launch a high summer capsule with a focus on colorful knitwear, jersey shirts, a project that will promote a retail first and merchandising-driven approach to support Thom Browne DTC revenues. On the other hand, as Paola mentioned, while wholesale performance in Q1 is not indicative of the full year trend, we continue to streamline this channel in order to improve its quality and further focus on Thom Browne DTC. Moving now to Zegna brand. The brand vision is clearly defined, and the team continues to double down on it with strong coherence.

At the end of March, during Art Basel Hong Kong, a flagship event within Art Basel, of which Zegna is a global sponsor, the brand successfully hosted a Foundersuite in the city. Foundersuites are smaller scale villas, Zegna Villas, built on the same concept: intimate, by invitation only spaces, where our most important guests, the Friends of the Brand, are immersed in the Zegna legacy through highly personalized experiences. This includes special collections that are exclusive to the event and not available in the regular stores. Guests learn about Zegna’s legacy and history in a physical space when the brand international community naturally comes together. Building on this same philosophy of immersive and highly curated brand experiences, Zegna engagement journey will continue in the months ahead.

In June, the brand will further scale this approach in the U.S., hosting Summer 2027 fashion show in Los Angeles alongside the Villa Zegna experience. The decision to locate the next fashion show and villa in Los Angeles reflect both the growing relevance of the U.S. market for Zegna brand and the city’s role as a global center of cultural influence. On TOM FORD FASHION, we already commented during the last call on the success of the most recent fashion show, which further confirmed Haider Ackermann’s ability to interpret the Tom Ford codes for fashion and its DNA in a way that is at once unique, contemporary, and deeply personal. Under his creative direction, the brand has defined its path and articulated a clear bridge between its past and its future. We are now working to translate this momentum and brand energy into in-store revenue generation.

The positive Q1 results in DTC confirm that we are moving in the right direction, but we are fully aware that there is still work to be done and that we have to work to further build on this progress. The brand has opened in Q1 two stores in Mexico, entering a market we see as offering a strong potential. Early feedbacks have been encouraging from these stores. Before concluding, let me add some comments on the situation in the Middle East and on current trading. As you know, the group operates 16 DOS in the Middle East region, alongside a limited number of franchisee store. All our stores are open and operational, and our teams continue to work with dedication and a strong sense of engagement in an environment that is obviously complex.

Over the past weeks, we have implemented immediate actions to contain inventory levels and adjust discretionary costs. Thanks to our people’s connection with clients and the strength of our brands, in particular Zegna brand, the revenue decline in the region, although down double-digit, is more contained than the decrease in average mall’s traffic. Considering Middle Eastern cluster, so the resident overall, which includes Middle East clients spending locally and spending abroad, since the beginning of the conflict, the impact is even more limited, being substantially flat to last year. This demonstrates the relevance of the strategy we have implemented over the years in the region with investments that laid the foundation for this relative resilience. While the current situation requires close monitoring, our long-term conviction in the region remains unchanged.

Middle East continues to be a key market for the luxury goods sector and a strategic area of focus for our growth, to which we remain committed. On current trading, first of all, it is important to underline that we are only 1 month into Q2, so any indication is by definition partial. Looking at DTC performance for Zegna brand, we are seeing trends broadly in line with Q1, excluding the Middle East. In the Middle East, April continues to show a double-digit negative trend, but at a lower rate than what we hear from the market and the competition. On Thom Browne, we are very pleased that the ASICS collaboration is now almost sold out across the regions. As expected, the revenue trend therefore will normalize in Q2 by adjusting the ASICS effect.

While we continue to see positive signs, we are also mindful that we need to further build and strengthen this momentum in the coming months, also leverage on the new clients that the collaboration brought to the brand. On TOM FORD FASHION, I would say the spring/summer collection has been well received. April continues to confirm this good trend. These early months of the year reflect the outcome of a vision and the long-term strategy defined in the last years. Executed with discipline. We are aware that important work lies ahead, and we remain fully engaged in delivering on our commitments, knowing that the overall context remains challenging. With that, we open to the Q&A session.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you, Gianluca. Operator, can you please open the Q&A?

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Chris Huang with UBS. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Chris Huang, Analyst, UBS: Hi, thanks for taking my question. It’s Chris from UBS. First of all, congrats on the very strong results. I will stick to two questions. The first one, just wanted to come back on the Chinese consumer comment you made on the Zegna brand. I think Paola, you mentioned that it was back to positive territory in Q1, which was very impressive. Could you maybe kind of elaborate a little bit more on what you have been doing in the region? And, you know, following that positive start of the year in Q1, would you expect this positive momentum to continue throughout the rest of the year? That’s my first one. Secondly, can we just talk a little bit about Thom Browne?

I think obviously Q1 was a very strong quarter boosted by the ASICS collaboration. Are you able to quantify how much incremental revenues that collaboration brought to the brand in Q1? Also, if you could very helpfully break down the like-for-like versus space component. I mean, if we look simply at the number of stores, probably like-for-like is in the range of low to mid-teens, if that’s correct. What does that mean for the H1 margins? Thank you very much.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you, Chris. Okay, I’ll ask Gianluca to comment on the Chinese market around Thom Browne.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Hi, Chris. Yeah, you’re right. Talking about cluster and market for its.

Chris Huang, Analyst, UBS: Yeah.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Chinese, it’s very similar knowing that most of the demand is local. Chinese cluster for Zegna, yes, did turn positive in the quarter, so we see this as a positive indication. When you look at the full year, we stay cautious because we see this not as a steady, every week same performance. We see some volatility in the results, so we cannot yet say we are entirely into a stable growth momentum. That’s why we reaffirmed that we are still looking in the planning, probably in a cautiously way, still looking at Greater China more as a flat environment on a comp basis. We are seeing within China big momentum in Hong Kong. We will also take advantage of this momentum with an important opening along the year with Harbour City in Zegna.

Less of a strong momentum in mainland China. Still we see the tier 1 cities holding much better than the tier 2 cities. This is in actual the environment of what we see in China. Of course, I think that what has been said in the last sessions with me, with Gildo, in several moments, we have been executing China on the same ground. We were later. I think finally we see some signs of traction. Yes, ASICS. You asked on ASICS. ASICS is not the only driver of the plus 20% growth in DTC. It’s an important contributor, but definitely it’s a big contributor also the rest. It’s not that taking away ASICS we go to zero. It’s an important contributor, but substantial growth comes from non-ASICS.

In terms of space and comp, when you say low to mid, I think you are not making properly right calculation. In terms of comp, Zegna and Tom Ford are the vast majority is comp. The vast majority is comp. On Thom Browne, there is probably an equivalent component of comp and space. Yeah.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you. Second.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: Your next question comes from the line of Natasha Banoori with Morgan Stanley. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Natasha Banoori, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Hi, this is Natasha Banoori from Morgan Stanley. Thank you for taking my questions, Paula and Gian Luca. I have two. Just first of all, can you remind us on the contribution from pricing this year? I believe it’s mid-single digits. Then maybe if you could break down how volume and mix and pricing have trended in Q1. Then my second question on the Zegna brand specifically, what are you seeing in terms of new versus existing clients in Q1, especially in the U.S., and anything to call out in terms of performance by product categories? Thank you.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you, Natasha. Sorry, the second question, just to clarify, okay, the contribution by category, but the first part of the question on Zegna was on?

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: New clients and.

Natasha Banoori, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Yes, new versus existing clients.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: New versus existing. Sorry, I didn’t get that. Okay.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: By brand, and then I will deep dive on Zegna. Zegna, the big driver is definitely AUR with a, with a mid, low mid, as you said, price component. There is a bigger component of mix, big component of mix, whether it’s elevated luxury leisure wear or the component of Triple Stitch noble floor. There is definitely a mix component that is elevating the AUR. On Thom Browne and Tom Ford, the AUR is less of a topic. It’s also volume, the driver. In terms of new existing, we are seeing an increased number of new coming into the Zegna brand. I think the brand momentum, whether it’s one product or another, the brand overarching momentum is attracting new clients to the brand.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Across all regions, yeah?

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Regions. I think we are seeing more new and what we are working a lot is also the retention of new. For instance, I make you an example because we always think of new through the Triple Stitch. It’s not only that. We launched in Q1 the collection of fragrances. That is also another entry door to the brand, the Memorie.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: For the first time.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: -which is of course, is a brand that well resonated, product story that well resonate in the brand because it talks about the story of the brand. We are opening new Doers to come into the brand and Memorie, that is fragrance collection, is a perfect example of that.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: In terms of price, the price mix, also Su Misura and all the personalized collection also through the Villa Zegna and the suite are also an important contributor.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Yeah. Su Misura is definitely growing a lot. We have always mentioned this, the Zegna spaces, whether are the suites which are temporary location that we do outside of the stores for a week, where we present our unique collection, whether it’s a villa, which is the pinnacle of that temporary location. We present collections that are unique, can be bought on ready-to-wear, typically are bought on a make to measure basis, but they carry an intrinsic higher price. That is a big driver and unique differentiating factors of the brand. We are working to make the make to measure also a bigger component of business also on Tom Ford and Thom Browne. Of course, starting from a lower base, but for instance, we launched new collection of Su Misura make to measure on Tom Ford in the recent months. We opened to women tailoring.

We opened leather outerwear on Su Misura, on Tom Ford. That business of Su Misura, which intrinsically carries a new higher AUR, is definitely a driver. Going back to the last point, which is on new versus existing, I talked about Zegna. I think it’s important also to remark on Thom Browne, ASICS, which has been an important driver to engage with new customers or re-engage with customers that used to buy at Thom Browne. We, this has been an important hook. When we talk about Thom Browne in the first quarter, driven also by ASICS, the numbers, but definitely this is a legacy for the remaining quarter. We need to work as a team to make sure that the new clients also prospect, because we basically sold out the product.

Say there is someone that didn’t find the product, we can engage them, bringing them back and use this as a driver, as a way to bring them back into the Thom Browne brand.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you. Next question, please.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: Your next question comes from the line of Bhumi Kanabar, Jefferies. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Bhumi Kanabar, Analyst, Jefferies: Bhumi. Can I just confirm that when you include the Middle Eastern cluster, it was flat versus last year, but then when you’re talking to locals, double-digit down?

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Sorry, Bhumi, it was difficult to hear the beginning of us talking. Can you repeat?

Bhumi Kanabar, Analyst, Jefferies: Yes. Sorry. Just a clarification for the first question. Can you just confirm what the Middle Eastern cluster did year-on-year when you’re including tourists and locals? The second one, can you just talk about how much Su Misura now is as a % of Zegna branded sales versus as a % of Tom Ford and Thom Browne sales, and where you hope that will get?

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Bhumi, unfortunately, it’s very difficult to hear you, and I’m sorry, but.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Robert,

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: The first-

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: If I rephrase, I think she was asking more clarity about the Middle East cluster.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Yeah, the cluster, not Middle East, the first one.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Personalization in each brand, I think.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Gianluca is much better in understanding.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: You asked about the incidence of personalization in the different brands. Am I right?

Bhumi Kanabar, Analyst, Jefferies: Yes. Yes.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Yeah. Good.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Good. Okay, Middle East cluster on the clarification that we commend.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Yeah, we said that the Middle East cluster, so all the residents in Middle East year to date, Not year to date, sorry, from the date of the conflict have been flat.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Yeah. Year to date is positive. Clearly it was positive.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Year to date is positive because January, February was very positive. This is what we said before, and this implies basically that they have purchased less locally and they’ve purchased more abroad. This abroad is partially going mostly to Europe.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Mm-hmm.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: what we see on the Middle East residents.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Personalization, we don’t really provide the details by brand, but you know that we say that, in terms of Su Misura, for Zegna brand is around 10% growing, but around that level, and this is, the number that, we can report.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: On the other two brands is minimal so far, but as we said before, we are working.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Are they can increase the collection to increase the capacity of the network to sell Su Misura? That is an untapped potential for the two brands.

Bhumi Kanabar, Analyst, Jefferies: Great. Thank you very much.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you, Bhumi. Sorry for not understanding immediately. Next one.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: Your next question comes from the line of Chiara Battistini with J.P. Morgan. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Chiara Battistini, Analyst, J.P. Morgan: Thank you very much. Thank you for taking my questions. I have a couple, please. 1st one on the performance in EMEA at group level. I was wondering, I know you mentioned wholesale drug and DTC outperformance. I was wondering if you could give us a bit better color in terms of quantifying how much DTC was actually up in the quarter in EMEA, and possibly what was the EMEA performance excluding the Middle East in Q1? That’s the 1st question.

Second question, and I know this is a current trading update, but I was wondering on not even with a specific indication, but really how should we be thinking about the operating leverage that I guess the Zegna brand should be seeing tracking on the mid-teens growth in terms of how much margins we should be extrapolating, margin expansion we should be extrapolating versus the level of the investment. Any indication on how to think about margin progression in H1 given the strong performance would be very helpful. Thank you very much.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: In terms of your first question, Chiara, what has been EMEA performance including wholesale, I would say that has been very solid, double digits for all the 3 brands. In terms of Middle East in the quarter, EMEA excluding Middle East is basically not much different.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Let’s give you this. If you see that our overall group at 7.4, you exclude Middle East from this year, next year, it goes up slightly, but not even 1 point.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: On the operating leverage, given Zegna performance, I think the question was on Zegna for the rest of the year. I leave to Gianluca.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: I think that so far let’s not enter into revised outlook. We confirm what we see out there in terms of consensus, which is floating between 185-190 EUR million for adjusted EBIT. Let’s remember, that’s the reason why we sat there saying that we have a margin in % which is moving sideways to last year, excluding the hit by tax, because we have 2 factors. We’re investing heavily in IT, in 1 group, increasing the backbone across the brands of same system, same processes. This is a moment of investment for the group. Second, we have currency headwind. We have seen in Q1 5 points. We don’t expect 5 points for the year. It will be somewhere close to 2 points. We have anyway headwinds on currency.

We don’t want to push the price lever too much, and therefore part of that will impact the bottom line. Therefore, that’s the reason why we are cautious in saying that we will enjoy too much of a operating leverage. We want to continue growing at our pace, setting the ground for long-term foundation. Of course, IT is one of those. Not stretching too much the price lever is another thing.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you.

Chiara Battistini, Analyst, J.P. Morgan: That’s great. Thank you.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you, Chiara. Next.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: Your next question comes from the line of Maria Meita with Bernstein. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Maria Meita, Analyst, Bernstein: Hello, and thank you for taking my questions. I have 3. First, at Tom Ford, what is the split between womenswear and menswear today? On womenswear specifically, I know that Haider Ackermann has been focused on ready-to-wear specifically in his first collection, but I was wondering if he’s now working on that iconic leather goods sort of model the next bag that will be popular at Tom Ford. Finally, it’s a longer-term question, but today, how confident are you in your 2027 guidance? Because consensus from what I see is below on both top line and bottom line. What levers do you, do you so plan to achieve the results in your guidance? Thank you.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you, Maria. I’ll leave to Gianluca on the split men to women, Tom Ford, the 70/30. This is 70/30 men to women, but on the leather goods and our plan on TOM FORD FASHION, I ask Gianluca to comment more. It’s part of the journey, as Maria said, we started already to wear, and we are also going to reinforce the leather goods part.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: I think we are definitely ahead on the leather wear rather than leather goods. I think that we are seeing good momentum on leather wear, mostly men, but also some good results on the women’s side. Definitely, that is one of the driver of the growth. Another one is knitware, which is becoming more and more important for the brand. Of course, there are the iconic parts, which is the suits, tuxedo, and so on and so forth. We recognize that we are still looking for iconic pieces on the women bags. On shoes, we are seeing some good results. I think that we are still working hard on the bag. Definitely is one key work stream for the group in the months to come.

That is if you look it from the other side, still an untapped potential. We see the opportunity to find a good platform there and make an offer that is Tom Ford in the DNA. That is what all the team from design to merchandising is working. When we feel we have all the stars aligned, then the amplification of the message and marketing will come.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: I would say very important to the work that has been done on the brand. Overall, this is really the starting point.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: On ready-to-wear, I think we are seeing that is the driver of the growth so far.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: 2027 guidance, how confident we are that we

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: We confirm that the targets that we have stated and we declared stated are valid on. We said on the lower part of range. I remember we put a range of revenues and a margin. We’re still comfortable on that lower part. Of course, why we said lower part, because from when we set the guidance, which was one year ago, March of 25, the currencies have taken definitely a swing, and therefore it would not be realistic to state more than the lower part of the guidance. We are still focused on delivering on that lower part of the range. Of course, we are still with a big question mark of what will be the outcome in the next months of Middle East.

We are still seeing that lower range as our goal for this.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Okay. Next.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: Your next question comes from the line of Chris Gao with CLSA. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Chris Gao, Analyst, CLSA: Hi. Thank you for taking my question. This is Chris Gao from CLSA. Right. Firstly, still about a follow-up about the current trading. Just want to be more precise. How do we see the 2Q to date trends compare with March exit rates? This is the first thing. Also if you have more clarity on the D2C and the Zegna core brands could be highly appreciated. Also on the GP margin trends for the first half. How should we think of this? Definitely, we believe you have strong support from your outstanding D2C sales growth, right? While industry-wise, there are still headwinds from foreign exchange and input cost volatility from geopolitical tensions.

How should we think of, you know, the first half GP margin trends? I understand this was a revenue call, but just any, you know, preliminary color could be highly appreciated. My, my second question is about the new customer type of contribution comment that management made just now. We’re very happy to see there are more new customers contributing to the growth. I just wanna confirm, 1, if it is also the case among the Chinese cluster and also among these new client acquisitions, do you see these new clients are more from Zegna Friends, are more into the Doers or more are categorized as aspirational customers? Just want to understand the profile of these newly acquired customers. Thank you very much.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you, Chris. Yes. You said 2 questions. I think they’re a little bit more than that, but let’s start with the current trend and exit rate. To comment in particular on the DTC and Zegna, and I ask Gianluca to provide some colors.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Hi, Chris. Give some color on, well, how we enter in Q2. In DTC, we finished Q1 with a +14%. Excluding Middle East, of course, where the performance is negative compared to last year. DTC overall is trending in line with Q1. We don’t see major difference. The performance in Middle East is double-digit down, but substantially less than what we hear. It’s the -50% that is out in the market in terms of traffic. We are experiencing a double-digit decline, but much more muted than what we hear out there at a -50%. Well, there will be a difference, as we said before, the decline of Thom Browne wholesale in Q1 is not to be replicated in Q2. We have said that will be the overall year.

full year growth will be much less than that, in the range of between 20% and 30%.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: DTC Thom Browne also.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: DTC Thom Browne will be adjusted for the partial growth contribution coming from ASICS. What was the other? On margin, I think not today, we are not talking about first half or second half margin because today we want to focus on revenues. In terms of new customers and Doers. We are seeing growth everywhere. We continue experiences a growth on Friends, on Doers, thanks to the personalization, the elevation of the offer. As I said before, we are seeing more and more new clients coming in from the different Doers that I mentioned before. Also in China. Before, I didn’t mention another entry door is also the two three two. That is the new platform of shoes that we put on the side of the Triple Stitch. We don’t have one arrow only.

We have multiple weapons to bring new clients into the brand. I think we see a stable and healthy pattern of growth across the different clusters. We are not banking only on new. We are not banking only on Zegna Friends.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Maybe the only things that you already mentioned previously is the fact that in first half, the impact from currency will be higher than in the second half.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Yeah. We had the 5 points in the first quarter. I think hopefully, the headwind will stabilize. We expect on the full year, probably close to 2 points on the year.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: operators.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you. Please, next.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: Your next question comes from the line of Adrian Duzaga with Goldman Sachs. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Adrian Duzaga, Analyst, Goldman Sachs: Hey, good afternoon, Gianluca and Paola. Thank you very much for taking my questions. I know you’ve commented on the consumer environment across regions, but could you please provide a bit more color on the performance by cluster? My second question would be on the wholesale channel. What are the trends that you’re seeing so far in the first half of 2026? How is the confidence across your partners, and what are you seeing with the order books? The last question is just a quick follow-up on your comments on margins. You’ve reiterated your guidance for margin to be sideways, ex tax, for the full year. Could you help us frame the phasing for investments between the first half and the second half, please? Thank you very much.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you, Adrian. First on performance by cluster.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Hi, Adrian. Cluster. North Americans continued very solid on a double-digit basis. We keep on seeing good momentum. Walking away from the cluster for a moment since we are talking there, we are banking on this by keep on expanding the network there. We are opening Scottsdale and San Diego with Zegna. Taking aside Zegna for a moment, we are investing also in Tom Ford. It’s Bal Harbor, it’s San Diego, and it’s Costa Mesa, Southern California. Cluster for Zegna, good. Market, important, we continue investing in that market. As I said before, the Chinese cluster turned positive in the quarter. In terms of European are solid, double down growth.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Double up.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Double down growth.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Double digit.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Double digit.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Double digit.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Double-digit growth, European cluster. What we see, again, moving away from the cluster a moment, something that probably is positive for the brand in Europe as a market, not as a cluster. We are seeing good growth of locals and also foreigners, which probably I’ve seen some mixed reports elsewhere. We are seeing also good momentum coming from foreigners in Europe. As I said before, the Middle East cluster was positive, double-digit in Q1. Of course, becoming flat from March, beginning March onwards. This is the answer on the cluster. On wholesale, I think it’s a strategic self-inflicted limitations we are putting ourselves. We could definitely open the gate for more and more revenues. We are on wholesale, we expect still the business to go down.

As I said before, Thom Browne will not be -58, will be halfways there. What has been the performance of Zegna brand and Tom Ford, it will still be Tom Ford probably single-digit negative in the year, and we expect Zegna to be around low double-digit in the year for wholesale. It’s not a question of order book, it’s a question of strategic decision to contain the distribution on some products. We could easily open the gate to have more than the business we are doing on wholesale. In terms of margin, as I said, it’s sideways, as we stay there for the time being. We don’t provide more details than that today. As I said before, I think that the consensus that is out there is realistic.

Of course, with a big question mark about the volatility on Middle East. I think that in the consensus it is based somehow some disruption from Middle East.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Thank you very much.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Ciao again, thank you so much. Okay, next.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: Your next question comes from the line of Anthony Charchafji with BNP. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP: Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. It’s Anthony Charchafji from BNP. On China, the momentum is improving and at Zegna, it’s a market that is more skewed to tailoring, but also your shoe business is still and was still very resilient last year. Would you be able to share what category outperformed between tailoring, shoes, and outerwear? Also by clientele, it’s also a market skewed to top spender, Zegna Friends. Did the growth with this top cluster improve and is catching up with the American and European Zegna Friend growth? My second question is on the store closure in China for Zegna.

Given that you are planning to close 10 stores in 2026, I’m curious to know if the first closures are seeing positive effect in the remaining stores nearby, so basically a neutral impact on top line. My third question would be on Zegna DTC between price mix and volume. In the recent year, the growth have been driven massively by price and mix with rather subdued volume. I’m just curious to know if you have a date in mind or a year in mind where you expect the volume to kick in at some point. My last question is on Zegna wholesale.

You decided last year to increase the quantity of economic product to your partners, such as the Conte, the Triple Stitch, and the Hubert luxury collection. Given that you guided Zegna wholesale down low double digits, is there any shift to have in mind from the wholesale to retail store, basically your retail performance being a bit boosted by a shift to your economic product? Thank you.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Hi, Anthony. Let’s start from China. China is not definitely a skewed to tailoring market. It’s not that we are banking on tailoring and it’s not tailoring the driver. I think that the category there that are driving the growth are luxury leisure, all the different categories of luxury leisure. Shoes is definitely both on the Triple Stitch, on the two three two. The personalization, we have had a very good, partially taken in Q1, partially will be seen in Q2, good campaign of make to measure. I think it’s not tailoring the driver of the stabilization of or +5 actually of GCR. It’s, you know, it’s all the rest.

In terms of cluster, the comment I made before about the balanced growth across cluster is the same for GCR. We are seeing good momentum for new clients, as I said before, on the different entry door that are Triple Stitch two three two fragrances. We are seeing good results also on the loyal, big spending clients. I think that what is true for the brand as a whole is also holding true for Zegna in China. In terms of price mix, of course, we said price low single digit. AUR driven by mix are drivers. On Zegna, probably, also the number of ticket is up.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Yeah, absolutely.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Also the number of ticket is up, definitely in some areas with some softness in traffic, but the execution and especially the conversion is driving the growth also in the number of tickets. As it refers to Zegna wholesale, yes, it’s a decision to contain the distribution of iconic items, the ones that you mentioned. Of course, we are taking advantage of some step back in also distribution in our Doers, whether it’s existing Doers or opening Doers. In U.S., for instance, some new openings that we have, as I mentioned before, I mentioned before Scottsdale. Scottsdale could be a door that is also taking advantage of some business that today is not in our DTC network.

Of course, we all know that there are some clients, especially in the U.S., that have been going through difficulties, and we pay the consequences last year on our credit. Definitely, we’re very careful in feeding that business in a very solid way, and therefore there is a very deliberate decision to focus and channel business that was in wholesale in-door stores. In any single location, whether it’s Scottsdale, whether it will be in Florida next year, whether it will be San Diego. There are definitely locations where we are opening, and we don’t have retail stores where we want to catalyze the business that today is held somewhere else.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Yes. There was a question on the positive impact from closures in China, of course.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: That is definitely our everyday goal for the store anytime we close a location to have a retention plan. Yes. I think that so far you cannot retain 100% of the business because it would be illogical. We have realistic goals of retention in any door we close, and we are holding to that plan.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Some of the Doers will. Maybe just a follow-up on the first one on the Zegna Friends or the clusters. Something we didn’t mention is that the Zegna Friends for Zegna are growing double digits also this quarter. It’s true that we have also new and clients, but also our existing clients, both Doers and Zegna Friends are doing very well. Very well. Next.

Oliver Chen, Analyst, TD Cowen: Thank you.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you. Thank you, Anthony.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: Your next question comes from the line of Oliver Chen with TD Cowen. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Oliver Chen, Analyst, TD Cowen: Hi, Paola and Gianluca. The Zegna brand has been impressive. Which regions or geographies drove outperformance just at the core Zegna brand? Then as we think about China tourism overall, how has China tourism been relative to your expectations? Third question on the Middle East, you’ve done better than peers based on strategies you’ve undertaken. What have those strategies been in terms of lesser, you know, traffic issues relative to competition? Thank you.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you, Oliver. Okay, on the Zegna brand, what regions is has drove the sequential acceleration, the performance?

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Hi, Oliver. We never talk about. I was there last week, so Latin America, Mexico is booming. Brazil is booming, percentage terms. It’s definitely not the biggest market, but we always talk about America, and we need to also point out, of course, U.S., but also Mexico and Latin America are doing extremely well. As I said before, Europe, continental Europe, is doing particularly well for us, both locals and foreigners. Until end of February, Middle East was booming. Japan and Korea, which we always mentioned, it’s not our forte per se, but we are seeing good traction on Japan and Korea across the 3 brands. Also driven by Chinese tourists. We are not seeing a lot of Chinese back on the west side in Europe.

The driver of success in Europe are for own locals is Middle Eastern, is South Americans, is North Americans. In Milan, in London, in Paris, in Madrid. Madrid is becoming a very important city for us. We are opening a new flagship in Madrid in the second half of the year, which is becoming a very important destination for South America, which is a very fertile ground for the brand. I think this answers to your first question. The third, I forgot it.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: The Middle East, what has drove our better performance versus competition, what we have done, what, of course, is a success that has happened years ago, the relations that we have with our customers.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: I think it’s about resilience. I think that our brand, we always said we are marathon runners. We are not sprinters. We might not grow so fast, but we run steadily. I think that our intimacy, the relationship that our teams have with the customers, the fact that they know their lifestyle. We are not transactional, therefore, I think that this keeps the business more resilient and steady in the good and bad days. I think we are reaping the effects of very long-term relationship with clients, the strategies that we have built. I think this is the reaction of having also in difficult times a good resilience and the fact of probably being a client, a brand of destination these clients also visit us elsewhere.

Maybe they don’t visit us in Middle East, they visit us elsewhere.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Thank you.

Oliver Chen, Analyst, TD Cowen: No.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: No more questions?

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: There are no further questions at this time.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Okay.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: You’re all good.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Alicia.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: Yeah.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Alicia.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP2: Okay. Hello, everyone. Alicia speaking. Thank you for attending today’s call. I would like to remind you that our next release and conference call will take place on July 23rd for H1 preliminary revenues. The silent period will begin on July 1st. If you need any other further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us. Have a nice rest of the day. Ciao.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: A nice hopefully long weekend. I don’t know who will have a weekend tomorrow. Thank you to also from myself.

Gianluca Tagliabue, Group CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna Group: Myself. Ciao.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP1: Ciao.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP2: Ciao.

Anthony Charchafji, Analyst, BNP0: This concludes today’s call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.