New CEOs Are Steering Revered Italian Brands
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MILAN — Each with a different agenda, new chief executive officers will be watched as they leave their marks on some of Italy’s most revered and international brands, charged with further developing their business.
Versace’s owner Capri Holdings Ltd., through its chairman and CEO John Idol, has been touting the further growth potential of the Milan-based fashion brand as it raises its luxury positioning.
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Now a new CEO, Emmanuel Gintzburger, who left Alexander McQueen for Versace in March, is tasked with spearheading the brand’s expansion.
During his tenure at McQueen, Gintzburger oversaw an aggressive retail expansion plan, with an ambitious strategy for the network and this may also be part of Capri’s vision for Versace going forward.
Gintzburger succeeds Jonathan Akeroyd, the new CEO of Burberry, and is the second McQueen veteran to become CEO at Versace.
In March, Idol said Gintzburger “has a proven track record of building global fashion luxury houses.” Idol continued, “We believe that Emmanuel’s vision for Versace will help us achieve our ambitions for the future. Versace already has strong momentum and Emmanuel’s leadership will help us further accelerate our plans and strengthen our strategic initiatives.”
Donatella Versace, the brand’s chief creative officer, also touted Gintzburger’s background in luxury.
Diesel has also seen change in the corner office, with Eraldo Poletto named global CEO of the brand, controlled by OTB, in July. Previously Diesel CEO of North America, he succeeded Massimo Piombini.
As a former CEO of Salvatore Ferragamo and Stuart Weitzman, Poletto’s background meets OTB president Renzo Rosso’s expectations to raise Diesel’s luxury positioning, as he eyes an IPO for OTB, which also controls Marni and Jil Sander, among others, in 2024.
In February, as reported, OTB CEO Ubaldo Minelli touted the evolution of Diesel in the first year under the creative direction of Glenn Martens, “setting the foundations for a new development phase that will place the brand in the alternative luxury segment, and that is generating the interest of international clients.”
Diesel, after a reorganization and repositioning of its retail and wholesale channels, continues to be a core business for OTB, representing 45 percent of the total last year.
In 2021, OTB turnover, including royalties, totaled 1.53 billion euros (excluding non-recurring revenues of 130 million euros), up 16.2 percent compared with 1.31 billion euros in 2020 and in line with 1.53 billion euros in 2019. Net sales totaled 1.45 billion euros, up 18 percent compared with 2020.
The storied Emilio Pucci brand is also going through a new growth phase, and Belgian fashion executive Saar Debrouwere joined in July as the Florentine brand shifts to a see-now, buy-now presentation model, and frequent product drops.
Pucci parent LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has tasked Debrouwere with “accelerating Pucci’s development by combining its lifestyle and resort origins with the creative modernity brought by Camille Miceli, the new artistic director, whose first designs were a great success.”
Pivoting away from fashion weeks, Miceli unveiled her first designs for Pucci over a fun-packed weekend of lunches, yoga classes and partying last April in Capri, the jet-set island where founder Emilio Pucci opened his initial boutique in 1951. Miceli’s scarf-like tops, caftans, leggings, straw bags and platform shoes were immediately available for purchase in Pucci boutiques, at pucci.com and with its exclusive retail partner Mytheresa.
Debrouwere joins the Italian brand from Shanghai-based fashion house Icicle, where she had been executive vice president, design and product, since 2020. Before that, she worked for Swedish fashion house Acne Studios, which she joined in 2012 as ready-to-wear director, studio and product, ultimately becoming chief product officer in 2014.
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