Продажи сегмента Vita в группе Fiskars впервые превысили показатели основного бренда

MILAN – Finland’s Fiskars Group, founded 377 years ago, took a major bet when it began building up Vita, its tableware and home decors segment, in the 21st century. Over the last two decades it has acquired some of the oldest names in tableware and design, among them Royal Copenhagen, founded in 1775 under the patronage of Queen Juliane Marie; Wedgwood, founded in Burslem, England, in 1759, and Georg Jensen, established in Copenhagen in 1904 by Georg Jensen, a former goldsmith’s apprentice and sculptor. That bet is now beginning to pay off. On Thursday, the group, which began as an ironworks and later expanded into high-quality household utensils and implements, said overall sales inched up 1 percent to 260.9 million euros in the second quarter. For the first time in its history, Vita’s sales exceeded those of the Fiskars segment in the quarter. The latter includes Fiskars, a gardening, cooking and lifestyle brand; Gerber, a tools brand, and Hackman, a cutlery brand. You May Also Like However, earnings before interest and taxes plunged 76 percent to 1.3 million euros as the group faces elevated inventories. Vita’s sales in the three months ended June 30 rose to 130.4 million euros, compared with 125.3 million euros in the year-ago period. Sales in the Fiskars segment fell to 128.7 million euros from 131.1 million euros in the second quarter of 2025. The company maintained its full-year guidance, forecasting an improved EBIT from 2025 levels of 76.4 million euros. “It was actually the fourth consecutive growth quarter, much driven by our business area, Vita,” said Fiskars Group chief executive officer Jyri Luomakoski during a live webcast with analysts. On a comparable basis, excluding the impact of exchange rates, acquisitions and divestments, Fiskars Group said sales rose 3 percent. Its comparable EBIT rose to 7.7 million euros from 3 million euros, which excludes items related to Vita’s turnaround, involving efforts to separate it into an operationally independent business, scale down production to clear inventory, and restructuring facilities. New Management Amid Turnaround In 2025, Fiskars Group poached seasoned luxury executive Daniel Lalonde from Flos B&B Italia Group to become chief executive officer of Vita. At the time, he took on an extensive portfolio of heritage brands and centuries of design history. Vita is also home to Waterford, launched by the Penrose family in Ireland in 1783; Iittala, which began as a glass factory in 1881, and Rörstrand, founded in Stockholm in 1726. At the heart of Lalonde’s strategy is stronger storytelling, attracting younger consumers through creativity, innovation, product launches and cutting-edge collaborations, while expanding both Vita’s market share and the category overall. Vita, he said in an interview with WWD in June, is a leader in high-end homeware, with about 15 to 18 percent of the overall market, which he estimates at 6 billion euros. That market includes tableware, home decor, cutlery and glassware. A key moment for Vita was 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen in June, where the company made a major statement through four large-scale brand activations. Iittala presented “Step Inside an Icon,” an immersive installation centered on Alvar Aalto’s vase and launched a new mouth-blown city edition; Georg Jensen unveiled creative director Paula Gerbase’s interactive silver exhibition, “At Play”; Royal Copenhagen debuted its Triton collection with the Griegst family, and Waterford and Wedgwood each staged immersive experiences focused on craftsmanship, hospitality and prestige. Overall, Vita is using a strong roster of creative directors across its brands to modernize heritage labels, attract younger audiences and create new icons through fresh collections, collaborations and a more contemporary design language. Vita’s roster of creative directors includes Gerbase, Jasper Toron Nielsen at Royal Copenhagen, Emma Glynn at Wedgwood, Hus Mozaffar (formerly at Ralph Lauren Home) at Waterford, Janni Vepsäläinen for Iittala and Annika Tickle, who is at the forefront of Rörstrand, Arabia and Moomin Arabia. Georg Jensen is Vita’s largest and fastest-growing brand, accounting for 24 percent of sales, while tableware remains Vita’s biggest category at 37 percent. Growing Pains Preparing for growth has not come easily. Iittala and Fiskars Group have undergone multiple rounds of restructuring and production cuts. Most recently, in February, Fiskars unveiled a global reorganization of its Vita business area, which includes Iittala, with a net reduction of about 310 roles worldwide. In the first half, Fiskars Group reported net debt of 541.0 million euros at the end of the second quarter, down from 556.3 million euros a year earlier. Luomakoski also pointed to continued improvement in free cash flow, which rose to 30.7 million euros, helping ease debt pressure. “One of our focus points now since a year has been cash flow as a consequence of the balance sheet or the indebtedness that had gone above our limits, and we have been focusing on our cash flow. There was a continuous improvement, significant actually,” he said. Fiskars Group’s shares are listed in Helsinki, Finland. On Thursday, they traded down 1.41 percent at 12.60 euros.