Björn Borg sees Q3 improvement, gets Lady Gaga boost

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 16, 2017

Underwear-to-activewear specialist Björn Borg said Thursday that sales and operating profit both rose in the latest quarter to the end of September as the firm ramped up its PR efforts and they've paid off with a boost from Lady Gaga.

Its net sales rose 14.3% to SEK205.7 million with currency effects having a “marginal” impact. Gross profit rose to 56.3% from 50.4% and operating profit increased to SEK32 million from SEK24.7 million. But net profit dipped just slightly to SEK24.6 million from SEK24.7 million.

The quarter’s figures were partially repeated in the progression made for the first nine months of the year although the company seems to have picked up pace on the profits front in the latest three months. For the January to September period, it’s sales progressed 14.3% as in Q3, but the gross profit margin was only 52.6% and both operating profit and net profit fell.

CEO Henrik Bunge said that Q3 was boosted by an August PR push: “During a two-week period in August we created the highest measured PR value generated to date by a single campaign. The Signature tennis collection and fashion show received a lot of attention, including in Vogue magazine.”

He also said that following the campaign, last month Lady Gaga did a yoga session wearing the brand’s Clara High Waist Tights and Björn Borg Solid Triangle Bra, which she posted to her 26 million Instagram followers, something that also drove interest.