Italy’s Calzedonia on Growth Push

VERONA, Italy — Italy’s giant hosiery, innerwear and beachwear group Calzedonia SpA closed 2012 on an upbeat note, with growing profitability and revenues and plans to further expand outside national borders.

In a rare interview, Sandro Veronesi, who founded the company in 1986 and has grown it into a retail powerhouse, revealed that net profit last year reached 137 million euros, or $176.7 million, compared with 134 million euros, or $186.3 million, the previous year.