Prada Looks to Men to Grow Sales

Italian luxury fashion group Prada (Milan) is looking to men's growing taste for high-end suits and leather goods to drive sales over the next few years.

The 101-year-old brand aims to almost double menswear sales to 1.5 billion euros (approximately $2.1 billion) over three to five years, and open more dedicated men's shops, according to Reuters.

Along with other store openings and an increase in production capacity, the company told investors Wednesday it expected the expansion of its menswear business to help return it to double-digit sales growth by 2016.

“Men will be protagonists in our development,” Prada retail director Guilio Bruni said, reports Reuters. The company forecast a high single-digit percentage rise in sales this year and at least 11 percent in 2015-16.

Prada said it would open 50 dedicated men's stores from 2014-2016, added to the 30 it currently has.

Retail locations in Prada's sights include China. The Prada brand has 146 stores in Asia. Sales rose in Asia Pacific in 2013 at more than double the rate in Europe.