Rabat jewelry recovers ground driven by the national market

Rabat, the jewelry and watch chain, has recovered ground by exceeding the threshold of 100 million euros in sales in 2021 after the drop of almost 40% that it suffered the previous year, during the first year of the pandemic. Then, according to Jordi Rabat, the company’s executive president, the chain plummeted, billing just over 70 million euros. Now the luxury goods company forecasts “double-digit” growth for this year, and seeks to strengthen its digital side.

Jordi Rabat has been optimistic. The company he chairs, founded in 1977 by Esteban and Cuca Rabat in Badalona (Barcelona), shows signs of improvement after the worst months of the pandemic. Specifically, the profits amount to 106 million euros in 2021. The accounts of last year still do not reach, however, the nearly 120 million euros that they invoiced in 2019, a year before the outbreak of the coronavirus.

One of the great consequences for the company after the pandemic has been to strengthen its offer among national customers. The growth in sales in this segment of the population represents 55% more in 2021 compared to 2019, when the usual buyers were international, who represented 60% of income. The health crisis has also meant a change in trend in terms of the output of products.

Until now, the sale of watches, mostly third-party brands, accounted for a large part of Rabat’s sales, and has decreased by 7%; while jewelry has increased by 30 points during the last year. Jordi Rabat, who has been Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2018, replacing his father, Esteban Rabat, sees a positive “rebound” in 2021, especially after June, because the first five months of the year were still “difficult”. ”.

The family business concentrates a large part of its operations at its headquarters on Paseo de Gràcia, in Barcelona, ​​and has shown sustained expansion over the years, which has led it to establish itself in Madrid, Valencia, Tarragona, and Ibiza. However, as they maintain, their strategy is based on “improving” those places where they already have an establishment and are “prudent” with respect to an upcoming national or international expansion. Rabat employs 185 people, and has increased its workforce by 12 workers compared to the previous year.