Fashion House Prada Posts 60% Rise In Profits

Italian fashion house Prada posted a 60% jump in net profit for the first half of this year.

The strong results were driven by Asian spenders who have continued to protect the company from slower growth.

The Milan-based company, popular for its coloured Miu Miu leather handbags, said net profit for the first six months of the year was £228.3m.

Listed in Hong Kong, Prada's shares have gained a whopping 71% so far this year.

China's luxury market, upon which global luxury powerhouses have become increasingly dependent, has been hit by weaker demand than expected due to slowing growth and a crackdown by Beijing on conspicuous consumption.

But things did not look as good for British fashion house Burberry Group (LSE: BRBY.L - news) , which warned on September 11 that its sales growth in China was far slower than expected.

Burberry has enjoyed rampant growth in recent years, but its sales have started to fall over recent weeks.

Nik Thakkar, founder of fashion brand consultancy Nephew London , told Sky News: "Prada's more affordable diffusion brand Miu Miu has been a huge growth driver, making up for almost a quarter of profits for the first half of the year.

"Developing a vibrant campaign for Spring/Summer 2012 featuring Australian actress Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland) is something that helped greatly, as it had great shareability through tumblr and Sina Weibo, truly resonating with financially solvent Millennials."

He added: "It will be interesting to see how Burberry's new digitally progressive flagship store on Regent Street in London helps shape growth for the brand on a local and global level in H2."

Prada said, while market conditions would remain challenging for the short term with more general volatility, it remains "confident about the near future and will continue to pursue the retail focused strategy which is an essential pillar of our long-term growth prospects".

The retailer has continued to push forward with its retail network opening 28 new stores, but closing two, and taking the total number of directly-operated stores to 414 at the end of Jul 2012.