Philipp Plein Inks Kids’ Wear License With Altana Group
MILAN — As part of its 2021 group and brand strategy, Philipp Plein is adding a new license for the design, production and global distribution of the brand’s children’s wear collections.
The five-year agreement was inked with the Altana Group, a kids’ wear specialist based in Treviso, Italy, which already produces under license junior collections for Moschino.
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The first Philipp Plein children’s wear range under the new deal is to bow for spring 2022.
“It’s been a privilege for me and my group to get in touch with the Altana Group and its high-quality products, manufacturing capabilities and ethic and responsible entrepreneurial attitude,” said Plein, chief executive officer of the namesake fashion group.
“I’m grateful to my counselor Carmine Rotondaro for establishing and negotiating this dea,l and I’m sure that the steady relationships that the Altana Group has built over the decades with a wide range of suppliers and distributors will represent an extraordinary support for the diffusion and establishment on the market of the designs we’re working on for our youngest clientele,” he added.
The brand, known for its over-the-top and exuberant take on fashion, had been offering a junior line for children up to age 16 that was produced and distributed in-house.
“We’re glad for the deal with Philipp Plein and ready to commence with enthusiasm this new adventure that encompasses communication, products and distribution,” said Marina Salamon, president of the Altana Group. “We’re confident that our multiyear technical know-how will perfectly blend with Plein’s design innovation and creativity,” she noted.
This is the latest step in the brand’s product offer extension as, after entering the fragrance arena, the company signed a license for its eyewear collections with Italian manufacturer De Rigo.
In late 2020, Plein revealed a revamp and streamlining of the group’s operations. As reported, a string of top executives exited the company, including Ennio Fontana — who was later named general manager of Roberto Cavalli; worldwide retail manager Andrea Lanza Cariccio, and global communications director Maddalena Bertoli Tedeschi.
New strategic appointments were made, including Riccardo Pasero, who joined the group as chief financial officer, after a long experience at Kering and in consultancy roles for real estate players.
In sync with its commitment to shifting its focus from the wholesale channel to an omnichannel approach through monobrand stores — both directly operated and franchisers — and online platforms, the group promoted Elisa Lubinski to helm the omnichannel development of the direct retail and franchise businesses.
In direct retail, the company closed five stores last year between Amsterdam and the U.S. because they were not profitable, while it is planning to add two directly operated stores in China, an addition to the two existing doors in Shanghai, an outlet, and the company’s Chinese warehouse.
In the U.S., where the company is facing a discrimination lawsuit, Plein said last year that it was scouting locations in New York’s SoHo and in Miami, planning to open two units by the end of 2021 to add to the current ones in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
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