A licence in footwear to accelerate development. This is the strategy of men’s clothing brand Dan John, founded in 2015 by the company formed by Daniele Raccah and Giovanni Della Rocca. The brand currently sells around 100,000 pairs of shoes a year, and is relying heavily on the footwear licence as a chance to expand its business. In this interview, CEO Daniele Raccah explains the “Dan John project”.
History and numbers of a project
What are the fundamentals of Dan John?
We are active with a network of 130 shops in Italy and abroad. We closed 2021 with revenues of 45 million euros, up from 35 million euros the previous year. Exports represent 12% of our sales.
What are your future goals?
This year the goal is to reach between 60 and 63 million euros, thus surpassing the 50 million euros in 2019. By 2025, we want to reach 200 shops and develop exports to generate half of our sales.
Dan John focuses highly on shoes
Will the shoe licence be among the growth drivers?
Of course. A licence with our recognised brand that sells over 3 million garments a year can be profitable.
Where are you at?
We are in an exploratory phase. Licences are a very complicated matter both legally and commercially. We are looking for partners with whom we can enter into a contract that can last for years and is based on solidity. It is still too early to give a time frame.
Where are the shoes you have in your collection produced today?
Made in Italy with Italian leathers for the formal models, while those with rubber bottoms and more sporty shoes are produced in the Far East and Turkey.
Reshoring and supply chain
Can reshoring with licensing be profiled?
If only! If we can find Italian companies that can guarantee us the same product quality and competitiveness, certainly yes. However, I do not know how easy it actually is to compete with the Far East. All this assuming that the licence is entrusted to an Italian company.
Could a lever of competitiveness be the supply chain?
The tidal wave of the supply chain from the Far East has now passed. The situation has almost completely stabilised after moments of ups and downs.
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