For Luciano Padovan, it is time to grow. The footwear brand founded in 1997 has gone from the Swedish fund Novargus to the Italian company LP Group (itself a subsidiary of Innocenti Group) in January 2020. LP Group majority shareholder and CEO Giorgio Innocenti (pictured) recounts these three years at the helm of the brand,...
The markets believe in China‘s recovery and the knock-on effect on luxury accounts. The markets, however, believe a little less in Gucci‘s ability to intercept the possible return of the Asian dragon. Although, trips, first by François-Henry Pinault, Kering‘s number one, and then by Marco Bizzarri, Gucci’s CEO, to Beijing suggest that the double-G brand […]
Exor has 6.5 billion to spend in acquisitions. A sum that would allow the company to capture quite a big prey. But it won’t be Armani, or at least it won’t be any time soon, says president John Elkann. “There aren’t as many opportunities for acquisitions in the luxury industry, when compared to other ones”. […]
From the catwalks of haute couture to the red carpet of film festivals, starting from a “simple” manual cutter’s course in San Mauro Pascoli. The story of Oronzo De Matteis, born in 1976, seems like a modern fairy tale: since he was a child, his dream of designing shoes, which became reality thanks to study,...
An identity element, first and foremost. So much so an identity, that it literally allows the nose to discern the real from the fake. But also a bond, that between leather and its perfume, which creates worlds and through synapses leads to something new. It is an ancient story, rooted in the history of the...
Decline in business volumes. Changing customer priorities. While in 2022 the world, thanks to the success of vaccination campaigns, was coming out of pandemic restrictions, China still experienced a year of Zero Covid, as Beijing’s policy of closures and lockdowns upon the detection of (even a few) positive cases is defined. What, in Bain’s calculations, […]
The Financial Times is perhaps exaggerating when it writes that “the post-sneaker season” is opening. But it is certainly interesting when it highlights a transformation taking place in the market: there are boys and girls who, fed up with sneakers, are rediscovering the style codes of the classic, formal and elegant shoe. Action/reaction Influencing the...
With two acquisitions, the Florence group enters the footwear segment. Lorenza Calzaturificio in Filetto (Chieti) and Novarese in Corridonia (Macerata) join the luxury cluster. And good things come in threes, as Florence also announced its entrance in the intermediary manufacturing segment with the acquisition of Officina Ciemmeci in Ponte a Egola (Pisa), an entity specialized in the treatment of […]
Tannery machines are constantly evolving. This is thanks to Industry 4.0. and the government incentives associated with it. It is thanks to these contributions that the Tuscan company GBL Officina Meccanica has managed to grow and develop in recent years. “We have evolved our lines, Industry 4.0. has given us a big boost,” says one […]
New purchase in the “made in Italy” environment for Holding Industriale (Hind). The Turin based investment company acquired, via Holding Moda, the majority of screen printer Seriscreen. This company based in Pian di Scò (Arezzo) and specialized in digital and UV printing on leather and textiles, is the 10th enterprise to enter the Holding Moda project. The […]
What you can visit. What you can immortalise. What you can divulge. And what not. The rules of Gucci ArtLab are as interesting as the work that goes on in the Tuscan centre, “the link between the style office and production”, as CEO Massimo Rigucci calls it. Opened in 2018 in Scandicci, Gucci ArtLab employs […]
Iconic handbags are the queens of luxury. The luxury segment experiences a V-shaped recovery in 2021, a year during which it reached 288 billion euro. This year, the high-end segment will surpass 300 billion. With the optimistic scenario (which forecasts a 10% to 15% growth), it will even reach 320 or 330 billion, while with...
The next Shanghai Fashion Week (scheduled for June 17-19) will be held digitally. It sounds like news from 2020, but instead it is current. The presentations of the 30 brands participating in the Chinese megacity’s fashion week will take place online. A strange snapshot of the market in the People’s Republic: which continues to grind...
China will be Gucci‘s booster. To achieve this, parent company Kering has prepared a dedicated approach that includes strengthening local teams under the leadership of former Tiffany executive Laurent Cathala. The Chinese market is particularly important for Gucci. Barclays estimates that the Italian brand gets around 35% of its sales from China, compared to 27% […]
Two years of pandemic. The bite of the Zero-Covid policies in China. The conflict in Ukraine with the consequent international tensions (including Russia’s isolation). Yet, (until now) no crisis has damaged large international luxury groups. Nor did the higher price tags calm the consumers’ desires. LVMH, Hermès, Chanel and Prada’s performances (to cite a few) are...
A gradual reopening in Shanghai. People going back to work in two districts of Beijing. Tanneries investing. There are signs of life from China, which can’t though be considered out of the Zero-Covid hurricane just yet. European stocks appear to appreciate the change of pace. Signs of life from China Some of the main European...
The light at the end of the tunnel, while remote, can now be seen. Even with Covid and connected restrictions, analysts agree that the forecasts for China and Japan remain encouraging for the luxury segment. Pre-pandemic volumes will return, which is why it makes sense to continue investing: creating synergies with small and medium companies...
Large cities in lockdown, industrial production slowed, GDP projection for 2022 lowered by the IMF from 4.8% to 4.4%. It’s now fair to talk about China’s crisis. The situation for the People’s Republic is alarming for luxury operators, as they see the Asian giant as the reference market in the area. Some groups and brands...
The pandemic threatens (once again) the exports of leather goods by the Made-in-Italy industry to China. As a matter of fact, Italian exports of shoes and leather goods to China were growing significantly during 2021, but the country’s current Zero-Covid policies may stop further hopes of a boom. A clear pain point, given that “Made-in-Italy...
“Acquiring tanneries? In principle, yes, because we also want to go upstream in the supply chain. But we don’t have the specific knowledge”. These are the words of Claudio Rovere, CEO of Hind (pictured). Hind is a holding company that invests in the capital of small and medium-sized companies with the aim of encouraging growth,...
