LONGARONE, Italy--De Rigo S.p.A. (NYSE: DER) reported a sales decline for the first six months of 2005. The company reported consolidated net sales of 267.5 million Euros for the first half of 2005, a 3 percent decrease from the same period last year.

De Rigo stated that foreign currency exchange rates had a negative effect on its consolidated net sales as they were less favorable to the company in the first six months of 2005 than they had been in the same period last year.

De Rigo’s net sales in the Americas amounted to 4.1 million Euros, a 6.8 percent decrease from the first six months of 2004, which the company attributes primarily to lower sales in the U.S. market.

The company’s sales through its retail chains were 195 million Euros for the half, a decrease of 1.9 percent from the first half of 2004. De Rigo’s General Optica stores in Spain (153 owned shops and 22 franchised shops) posted a 4.3 percent sales increase in the period, while its Dollond & Aitchison stores in the U.K. (235 owned shops and 140 franchised shops) saw sales decrease by 5.3 percent.

DeRigo’s wholesale/manufacturing business had a 4.1 percent decline to 79.4 million Euros compared with the half quarter of 2004. The company said “wholesale and manufacturing sales in the first six months continued to be impacted by the expiry of the group’s license agreement with Fendi as of the end of 2004.” De Rigo expects the negative impact of the end of its Fendi license to be more than offset by sales of its new Chopard, Ermenegildo Zegna, Escada and Jean Paul Gaultier collections.