"We raised 4 billion euros in the capital market at what we believe to be very attractive rates. We do feel we have ample liquidity and flexibility," Johann Rupert said, adding the proceeds had been used to finance the acquisitions of online distributors Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) and Watchfinder.co.uk.

Rupert said a strong presence in the digital channel was becoming critically important to serve the group's customers and it was still looking to establish how the online distributors could best work with the other parts of the group to drive benefits.

(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Maria Sheahan)