Brioni, the Italian luxury men’s brand renowned for its hand-stitched suits, expects demand in India to remain robust.
The brand’s expertise is in hand-crafted, custom-made suits, each of which takes over 20 hours to be created. Company’s chief executive Francesco Pesci thinks he looks best in suits and he wears them every day.
“Suits are very functional,” he says, demonstrating how the various pockets in a jacket serve a man’s purpose. In an interview with DNA, he spoke about the company’s ambition to become synonymous with Italian elegance. Excerpts:
You have been in India for a while, what do you feel about how your brand is doing here?
2008 and 2009 were difficult times in all markets around the world, and India was no exception. In 2010, we saw the market picking up again. I think most high-income consumers, whom we target, are still very cautious because there are too many events happening in this world that are disturbing. But the rebound in India has continued even in 2011 and I think it will grow even faster from 2012. I am very optimistic about the India market, and Indian consumers are not new to us. We were serving them for nine years through our shop in London before we came to India.
What about opening more stores here?
Not yet. Currently, we have two stores — one in Mumbai and one in New Delhi. (Badasaab Group is the master franchise for Brioni in India). Before I open more stores here, I want to grow the business in existing stores. I would be happy with an average growth rate of 15-20% for the next 3-5 years.
Which is your biggest market? Internationally, are you looking to enter newer markets?
US is the biggest market for us followed by Europe and Russia. South America is a market Brioni is not present yet. We have been a bit behind there, so we need to catch up.
Is it true what some people say about your tailors that they can stitch suits blindfolded?
Our master tailor Angelo Petrucci can do that, yes. He can stitch a whole suit blindfolded. Tailors are like artisans, they have skilled hands and it’s the hands that direct them, not the eyes.
What kind of training do you give them to become such experts, and is retaining them a challenge?
We are the only company in the world that has a tailoring school which gives a four-year tailoring programme. We take people at the age of 14 and at the end of the fourth year they graduate, after which, they do a year of internship and then they are assigned to different sections of our factory according to their technical skills and individual talents. Exceptional pupils become master tailors at Brioni. Most of our students are born in the region; Italians do not like leaving their homeland. And they like to work with a company like Brioni that is located in their area.
How huge is your company at global level? What is your ambition?
In 2010, we reached €170 million. We are not a big company but not a small one as well. It is a family-owned business going back to 1945. In 5 years, I would like to bring this company to €270-300 million. But the real objective in 3-5 years is to turn Brioni into a company that stands for Italian elegance by definition.
What is the most expensive suit that Brioni makes?
We have one single fabric that is so expensive that a suit made with that specific cloth will bring the price of a single suit to €25,000, but our starting price is €3,000. In India, the prices go 20% higher than that because of the duties we pay.
Source:Saturday, Mar 26, 2011,Shailaja Sharma,DNA
Tags:brioni, brioni franchise, francesco pesci, suit franchise, designer franchise, apparel franchise, garments franchise, badasaab, badasaab franchise,
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