Business results 2023

13.05.2024 | LOWA kept its production volume stable in the past financial year despite weaker market demand and delays due to the introduction of new IT systems in production. In the 100th year of the company's history, the hiking and mountaineering boot specialist sold around 3.06 million pairs of shoes, roughly the same as the previous year's figure of 3.16 million pairs. The trail running product segment, which was launched in 2023, is performing above expectations and has been very well received by the market.

In addition to the weak demand in all LOWA markets, which was particularly noticeable in the second half of the year, delays in order processing had an impact in 2023, particularly due to the introduction of ERP software in the production plant. As a result, LOWA was unable to achieve its original goal of further increasing production and sales. Nevertheless, the LOWA Group's turnover remained at a high level of around EUR 230 million in 2023 after EUR 236 million in the previous year.

"After the catch-up effects of the coronavirus in previous years, 2023 was characterised by high inventory levels in our industry, but also by consumers' reluctance to buy due to inflation," says LOWA Managing Director Alexander Nicolai. "LOWA did well in this environment. My special thanks go to our customers, who remain loyal to LOWA. I would also like to thank the entire LOWA team, who are committed to supporting the entire IT transformation process and thus playing a key role in driving it forward. We have continued our future investments in capacity expansion, greater cost efficiency and new products as planned and remain confident about the coming years. For the spring/summer 2025 collection, LOWA has numerous new products in store that appeal to a young, modern and athletic target group."

The market response to the trail running segment launched last year with the ALL TERRAIN RUNNING by LOWA collection has been pleasing. The feedback from specialist retailers and end customers has been very positive so far, with sales exceeding expectations. A tripling of the production volume is planned for this year.

Alexander Nicolai: "From the outset, we saw our carefully prepared entry into the trail running segment as a logical strategic development for our company and feel vindicated by the market response. The response shows that the values and characteristics of the LOWA brand can also be credibly transferred to the fast-growing running segment."

For the current financial year, LOWA expects production and sales to remain more or less stable compared to the previous year.