The relaunch of Roberto Cavalli alongside the development of its “huge potential” will mainly focus on shoes and bags. Ennio Fontana, who is the new general manager of the brand, wants to strive hard to make footwear, for Men and Women, account for 20% of the overall turnover, which will supposedly reach, within 5 years, 170 million euros at least. “Likewise, we want to grow in our bag supply as well, not only in terms of collections but also in terms of image and quality”, pointed out Fontana. The licence for adults’ footwear (Rodolfo Zengarini) as much as the one for shoes for kids (Andrea Montelpare) are back in house. A few contractors, directly overseen by the company headquarters, will be appointed to carry out production.
A huge potential
According to Fontana, interviewed by MF Fashion, Roberto Cavalli brand is at a historic low, therefore it may well benefit from a huge growth potential ahead of it. More specifically, the brand has been traditionally strong in the womenswear sector (which they are not going to overlook of course): they can now grab the opportunity to develop the menswear segment. On top of that, they are also going to focus on online sales, which currently drive 10% of the overall turnover. As regards the retail business, Fontana hopes they will be able to start working again in the United States as soon as possible. In the meantime, an upcoming new opening in Paris is on the agenda.
Sneakers to be the footwear core
“We are also planning to open a new segment, mostly directed at casual women and focused on sweatshirts, tracksuits and sneakers”, announced Fontana himself while speaking to Fashion Network. Sneakers will be for sure the core of the footwear segment, which, together with men’s apparel, used to account for 10% of earnings. Fontana also took stock of the situation with regard to a controversial relocation of employees from Florence to Milan. “At present, around 60 of our employees work in Milan, whereas about 30, currently hired in Florence, are considering whether they will move or not. In 2018, there were about 300 employees”, commented the new general manager.
Pictures taken from robertocavalli.com
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