M&A Activity Heats Up in Italy: Trussardi Acquired by Gruppo Miroglio
Updated on March 13 at 10.15 AM ET
MILAN — M&A activity is heating up in Italy.
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After Style Capital took control of Autry over the weekend and Missoni on Tuesday said it had bought textile company Tricotex, Miroglio the same day finalized the acquisition of Trussardi from Italian independent asset management company QuattroR.
In addition to saving and further developing a storied brand, the agreement will allow Miroglio to enter the premium range of the market and expand its portfolio by adding menswear and accessories, said the group’s chief executive officer Alberto Racca.
Financial details were not disclosed.
QuattroR took a controlling stake in the Italian fashion brand in 2019, but last year employees were put in “cassa integrazione,” or into a government-funded redundancy pay. Trussardi, through a range of sub-branches, is said to have an aggregated debt of around 70 million euros and last year filed for a restructuring plan with creditors that allowed it to continue to operate under the so-called process of “composition with creditors.”
As reported, Miroglio was the front-runner to take over Trussardi and earlier this month the government-appointed commissioner Angelo Rodolfi was expected to assign the assets of the troubled brand to Miroglio, which is said to have presented the best industrial plan.
“We are proud to announce the acquisition of Trussardi, a fundamental step in our growth strategy and portfolio diversification,” said Racca. “Trussardi, with its unique patrimony and strong appeal in the premium segment, represents an icon of Italian heritage. We plan to enhance the combination of elegance and versatility that has always distinguished Trussardi in all its expressions, with an eye on the lifestyle and values of the contemporary customer.”
The mention of lifestyle is fitting for Trussardi, as Nicola Trussardi, who propelled the family’s business in the ’80 and ‘90s, opened Palazzo Trussardi near the La Scala theater in 1996 as one of the first concept stores in the world, merging fashion retail with food, while also serving as an exhibition space for artists and architects. The building is not part of the sale and will remain in the hands of the Trussardi family. Under former CEO Sebastian Suhl, who exited the brand in March 2023, the palazzo was entirely redesigned by the Berlin-based architecture studio Bplus.xyz together with Thorben Gröbel and housed two dining experiences in collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Giancarlo Perbellini.
Nicola Trussardi died in 1999 in a car accident. His daughters, Gaia and Beatrice, are no longer involved in the company, while his son Tomaso became a strategic adviser to the house.
Miroglio’s goal is to restructure the Trussardi organization, boost its core leather goods business, and guarantee industrial continuity.
On Wednesday, Italy’s union Filctem CGIL said that Gruppo Miroglio has pledged to employ 124 workers of TRS Evolution, a company entirely controlled by Trussardi SpA, of whom 91 employed by the brand’s outlet stores. The workers will be re-employed by the newly established Trussardi Milano srl. At the same time, Miroglio Fashion will also offer additional job opportunities within its own group.
Giordano Fumarola of Filctem CGIL expressed his satisfaction as “the agreement was approved by the workers” during such “a delicate phase for TRS Evolution and in general for Trussardi.”
The company was founded in 1947 in Alba, in Italy’s Piedmont region, by Giuseppe Miroglio and controls nine brands that range from Elena Mirò and Caractère to Motivi, Oltre and Fiorella Rubino, among others. It has four production plants and 1,100 monobrand stores.
Miroglio plans to adopt a multichannel growth strategy for Trussardi with a particular focus on its key markets, Italy, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Trussardi was founded in 1911 and was originally a glove-maker. It will become part of the group as an independent brand and will maintain its headquarters in Milan. The acquisition includes a network of 15 stores in Italy, Trussardi’s storied archives and its licenses, for example, the brand’s fragrances, licensed to Angelini Beauty, which are a very solid business. Trussardi’s home and children’s licenses are also said to be strong. The brand’s home and furniture licensee Luxury Living Group last year unveiled a three-pronged partnership with MIRA Developments for the first Trussardi-branded residential complex to be built in Dubai’s Al Furjan neighborhood.
In March 2023, Trussardi’s board of directors resigned, and Suhl, a former Valentino and Marc Jacobs executive, and the designers he had recruited as creative directors in May 2021, Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby, were all out. Işık and Huseby design their own label, the Berlin-based GmbH, which was launched in 2016.
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