Sinv SpA is switching things up.
The Italian fashion manufacturing company has incorporated PS Srl, the subsidiary that previously controlled the Piazza Sempione brand acquired by Sinv in 2014. Through this financial operation, Sinv will take direct control over the fashion label by simplifying the company’s structure.
Sinv, which is owned by the Della Rovere family and has boosted its management team with the appointment of general director Piero Persi, also holds a minority stake in Dirk Bikkembergs. In addition, the company produces under license the collections of Stella Jean, which signed an agreement with Sinv last month, and Love Moschino. According to Persi, Sinv forecasts to close 2016 with revenues of 70 million euros, or $74.3 million at current exchange, in line with the previous year.
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“Aware of its high-end heritage, Sinv is now restructuring to face the challenges of the international markets. We are confident that, through the skills matured over the years, the new management will be able to develop the brand’s portfolio at its best,” Persi said. “From Piazza Sempione and Stella Jean to Dirk Bikkembergs and Love Moschino, Sinv operates in different market segments with collections offering the best quality standards and reflecting unique and specific points of view.”
According to Persi, Sinv developed a five-year industrial plan for Piazza Sempione aimed at doubling the number of points of sale where the brand is sold, which are currently 220. The company will also invest in retail by launching e-commerce and opening the first flagship in Milan, in the Golden Triangle luxury shopping district, in the second quarter of 2017. The store will feature an evolution of the concept that will be used for the brand’s boutique in Short Hills, N.J., which will be revamped and reopened next spring.
“We also expect to open franchising stores in Asia, especially in Japan,” said Persi.
The United States represents the most important market for Piazza Sempione, accounting for 40 percent of the brand’s total business.
Among the projects to be developed in the next five years, Sinv targets the expansion of the Stella Jean women’s brand. The label’s first collection produced by Sinv will be the pre-fall 2017 lineup. The Tomorrow showroom will wholesale the brand from its international locations.
According to Persi, Stella Jean, which is sold in about 200 points of sales, is expected to increase its business, especially in Italy, France, Germany, and the U.K., along with the United States, Korea and Japan.
Sinv is also working on the production of the first men’s collection designed by newly appointed creative director Lee Wood for Dirk Bikkembergs. The collection will bow in January in Milan.
“We made big investments in the collection to get the best fabrics and guarantee the highest quality,” said Persi, adding that the company plans to double the brand’s business in five years. Dirk Bikkembergs is expected to grow more in Europe and China, where the brand’s majority stakeholder Guangzhou Canudilo is boosting its franchising business.