Zegna
Zegna
Zegna
ROHIT DESHPANDÉ
DANTE ROSCINI
ELENA CORSI
Zegna
On a June morning in 2023, Ermenegildo (Gildo) Zegna, the CEO and Chairman of the fashion
Group Zegna, looked with satisfaction at his elegant, but casual Zegna branded outfit in the mirror. He
was about to meet with Patrizio Bertelli, the CEO of the Italian fashion group Prada, to cement the joint
acquisition of a minority stake in the Italian family-owned knitwear firm Fedeli. Through the
acquisition, they would keep their Italian supplier independent and take a step forward in preserving
the Made-in-Italy know-how in textiles and fashion. The deal would also advance Zegna’s already
established commitment toward casual wear, which in 2022, made up 70% of Zegna’s apparel
collection sales while formal wear stood at 30%, a ratio that was inverse in the years pre-COVID.
Gildo’s grand-father, also Ermenegildo, had started the business back in 1910 when he founded a
wool mill in Trivero, in the north of Italy, and built a global brand out of high-quality fabrics. Over the
years, the company’s focus shifted to the production of formal menswear. While growing, Zegna
purchased a few suppliers. Since 2019, its purchasing activity intensified. Many Italian manufacturers
in the textile and fashion industry struggled to compete against lower cost companies from Asia,
especially due to the European Union’s elimination of textile import quotas.1 The 2020-2021 COVID-19
pandemic and the lockdowns that some governments implemented to limit the spread of the virus led
to supply chain bottlenecks, further weakening Italian fabric suppliers. The soaring inflation during
the Russia-Ukraine war that began in 2022 only made matters worse. Some manufacturers sold to
international groups, namely the French firms Kering and Luis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), both
of which had already purchased several Italian brands and were now interested in deals with fashion
suppliers. Their size was such that to beat them on the negotiating table was not easy.2
In 2023, while LVMH was a group of about 75 brands and Kering of 16, the Zegna group had only
three brands: its core menswear brand Zegna, the avant-garde brand Thom Browne, purchased in 2018,
and Tom Ford, added to the group in 2023. If more suppliers moved to LVMH and Kering, the company
would struggle to grow volumes while keeping its place-based branding, “Made-in-Italy” label.
Gildo looked again in the mirror. He was proud of how his company had embraced change and
how it managed to transform the image of the Zegna brand. However, how could the brand remain
relevant if formal wear was not its core activity anymore and in the presence of growing competition?
Professors Rohit Deshpandé and Dante Roscini and Elena Corsi (Europe Research Center) prepared this case with the assistance of Laura Wegner
and Avi Gulati. Professor Roscini, was the chairman of the Audit Committee of the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) that took Zegna
public on the NYSE in 2021. It was reviewed and approved before publication by a company designate. Funding for the development of this case
was provided by Harvard Business School and not by the company. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not
intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management.
Copyright © 2023 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685,
write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to www.hbsp.harvard.edu. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied,
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524-021 Zegna
Zegna’s History
Ermenegildo Zegna started with a wool mill and looms when he was only 18, with the help of his
brothers (see Exhibit 1 for a timeline). Among the first in the world to have a logo, the Ermenegildo
Zegna fabrics were sold to tailors in Europe and abroad particularly in the United States. In 1966,
Ermenegildo’s sons took the helm and in the 1960s launched ready-to-wear collections, in the 1970s a
made-to-measure range, and in the 1980s the company’s first stores and two production plants in Spain
and Switzerland for ready-to-wear suits.3
While Italy’s economy boomed in the 1980s and Italian cinema promoted the idea of the Dolce Vita,4
Italian fashion brands gained popularity. Most were based in the north of Italy. Gildo explained, “Since
the 1970s, Italy witnessed the development of specialized clusters: wool in Biella and Vicenza, leather
and shoemaking in Marche and Tuscany, knitwear in Emilia, and ties in Como. The clusters attracted
designers and many gathered in Milan, Italy’s financial center.“ Italian fashion shows like Pitti in
Florence and the Milan show became key fashion events.5
In the 1990s, Zegna opened more stores. Gildo said, “In 1991, we were the first to open a luxury
monobrand store in China.” That same year, the company launched a partnership with the Italian
fashion brand Gucci to produce their menswear, radically increasing its volumes. However,
competition was growing. In France, the high-end accessories brand Luis Vuitton merged with the
alcohol company Moet Hennessy and was listed on the Paris stock exchange in 1987 as LVMH. The
group executed an aggressive luxury brand acquisition strategy under ownership of businessman
Bernard Arnault.6 In 1988, the French retail group PPR (Kering’s old name) was also listed on the Paris
stock exchange, and in 1999 PPR likewise moved to luxury, starting with Gucci’s acquisition.7
In parallel, Zegna, which was led by Ermenegildo’s grandsons, the two cousins Gildo and Paolo,
as joint CEOs since 1997, purchased manufacturing plants in Turkey and Mexico. The company also
expanded its product lines to not only fabrics and suits, but also ties, knitwear, shirts, accessories, and
sportswear. In 1999, Zegna also purchased Agnona, a women's luxury apparel brand, with the vision
of relaunching it, while in 2002 it partnered with Italian shoemaker Ferragamo and launched ZeFer
shoes. Other partnerships followed. Some were formed to gain production capacity for current lines
and others to expand the product line to new categories.8
While Zegna grew, the Italian fashion industry weakened. Gildo said, “Italians are too passionate
about the product and are not good at storytelling, or product marketing. We lack the diligence, focus,
planning capacity, and marketing skills that the big international groups have.” Many Italian brands
had been acquired by LVMH and Kering. Gildo said, “French brands often outsource production and
about 70% of its garments are made in Italy. In the 2000s, the owners of the key Italian fashion brands
gathered together to discuss an alliance. We all thought only the CEO of Prada can federate us. But he
was just out of a series of unsuccessful brand acquisitions and had to focus on his company.”
In 2007, the older cousin Paolo assumed the role of Chairman, while Gildo became the sole CEO. In
2018, the company purchased 85% of the US high-end, fashion brand Thom Browne, particularly
popular among the younger generations. After years of trying to revive the brand, in 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic, Zegna sold Agnona.9 Gildo said, “These were tough months for us. Our volumes
dropped by 50% and following the drop in demand and the widespread lockdowns, we had to
temporarily close our production plants and shops. Luckily, Italy had a generous deferral program in
place and we could keep our employees. But still, some of our suppliers were affected.” Despite the
pandemic’s effect on Zegna’s sales in 2021, at the end of the year, the Zegna Group listed on the New
York Stock Exchange. Gildo said, “Our managers needed new energy. By listing the company, I could
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Zegna 524-021
reward senior management with shares, which is a strong incentive.” The listing also gave the company
the capital to grow.10 The family retained control over a 63% stake in the business.
By the end of 2022, despite the move from a textile producer to a ready-to-wear brand, 8% of Zegna
Group’s €1.49 billion revenues came from the sale of textiles and 7% from third party brands (see
Exhibit 2 for the financials). Consumer and Retail Excellence Director Angelo Zegna (HBS MBA 2018),
Gildo’s younger son, said “We produce fabrics, knitwear, hats, and garments for most high-end luxury
brands players.” Zegna’s headquarters were now in Milan.
In 2022, the luxury fashion industry witnessed four key trends. First, the global pandemic had reset
the dress code—especially menswear-- to casual wear.14 The trend had already started a few years
earlier with an increase in appeal for sportswear and comfortable clothes and shoes, but the pandemic
made men move away from formal wear even for work. Many luxury brands developed sportswear
or leisurewear lines, alone or in partnership with sports brands, like Gucci, which designed a line for
the sportswear company Adidas.15 Many menswear brands refocused on casual and streetwear.16
Second, some wealthy consumers were moving away from big logos, following the so called quiet
luxury trend. In a period of high inflation and upcoming potential economic recession, wealthy
consumers sought garments of high-quality, but with a minimalist and timeless style, neutral colors,
and no visible logo, even though their peers could recognize the garments.17 Less trend-focused and
logo-centered fashion houses like Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, and Hermès had been key players in
such a segment for years and were now experiencing higher demand.18
Another important trend was the growing concern for the environment, especially among younger
consumers.19 Luxury brands were traditionally less interested in sustainability practices. However,
following customers’ demands, more and more brands introduced sustainable materials and placed a
stronger focus on recycling and waste control efforts. Finally, the boundaries between menswear and
womenswear were fading, a result of gender fluid trends.20
The luxury fashion industry was dominated by LVMH and Chanel, each covering 10% of the luxury
fashion goods industry sales, as well as by Kering, covering 5% of the market (see Exhibit 4 for details
on selected players).21 Among such key players, LVMH owned five Italian brands (Berluti, Emilio
Pucci, Fendi, Loro Piana, and Bulgari), while Kering four (Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Brioni, and
Pomellato). Conglomerates offered advantages, such as better negotiating power with retail landlords,
and economies of scale advantages in production, marketing, supply, and logistics.22
Though many Italian brands had been purchased by foreign companies or private equity groups
and despite Italy lacked large multi-brand luxury champions, the country remained an important
player in the fashion industry.23 Italy still had a rich pool of monobrand luxury companies such as
Prada, Armani, Ferragamo, and Brunello Cucinelli.24 In 2021, Italy was home to 23 of the top 100 luxury
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524-021 Zegna
goods companies, yet it only had an 8.3% share of the top 100 sales. France, on the other hand, only
had eight companies, yet covered 34.3% of the top 100 sales.25 In luxury clothing, footwear, and leather
goods manufacturing, Italy produced about 78% of the global supply.26 “Made-in-Italy” was still a
point of reference for high-quality clothing and textiles.27
A growing concern for the company was that the three sub-brands followed a formal style. Zegna’s
Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori said, “Our brand has been grounded and known for tailoring, or
shirts, ties, and suits. But that image has lost appeal in recent years. You can be the most beautiful
brand made of the best fabrics, but if your style is getting old you are left behind.” The store formats
also looked old, furnished in black wood like a private club. Gildo said, “Our store people presented
the products talking about how many stitches there were, the length of the yarn, and the type of fabric
used. We were not selling a dream and were boring.”
In addition, the product categories were too wide. Edoardo Zegna, Gildo’s eldest son and head of
Marketing since 2021 said, “For example, we had 10 different sneaker models but none were taking off
and all had different targets and price points. We needed a model that translated the new lifestyle of
the company and decided to focus on one.” Sales were stable, but shopping frequency was decreasing.
Edoardo said, “Our brand had become the emporium of men's luxury. You would go to Zegna, if you
needed something, for example because you were getting married. But you would never wake up and
say: ‘ I’ll visit Zegna and see what they have.’”
Overall, the Zegna family believed that the company needed to change on several fronts. Gildo had
been planning radical changes since 2015, when he had asked the former Zegna designer Sartori to
come back. Sartori said, “We had a seven hour lunch at the end of which I signed the contract. We
agreed that several changes were needed as you cannot just focus on the style, or the collection.” Gildo
added, “In the second year of COVID, or 2021, our volumes were still low while other luxury brands
were growing. People were not buying suits anymore. The Z Zegna brand was the most affected one
as these customers did not seem to be coming back. We had to do something.” In July, Gildo thus
announced that in 2022, Zegna’s three sub-brands would merge into one. Edoardo said, “Since I joined
the family business in 2014, I thought we should merge the three brands. We were reaching out to
different customer segments with different pricing, instead of building value. The Z Zegna brand,
which sold suits at €1,000 to young professionals or for special occasions, diluted the image of the other
two brands which were at price points of €3,000 for Ermenegildo Zegna and €5,000 for Couture. We
used the crisis to push through the changes.” By merging the three sub-brands, the company stopped
producing Z Zegna. Gildo remembered, “It was a hard decision for me as our core business would not
be called Ermenegildo Zegna anymore, like my ancestor, but only Zegna. I had to close our Spanish
manufacturing plant that my father had opened in the 70s. It was heartbreaking, but we had to do it.”
In addition, Gildo announced that the new Zegna brand would be centered around casual wear and
drastically cut its SKU offering from 10,000 to 3,000 in a couple of years.
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Zegna 524-021
The new collection, launched in 2022, was centered around casual wear (see Exhibit 5 for pictures
of the collections). The casual wear included unstructured jackets and revisited workers’ overshirts,
shirts, and pants, made out of high-end fabrics. The garments came only in a few colors. Sartori said,
“I established a few iconic Zegna colors, such as brown, white, and navy blue, and I used
monochromatic silhouettes to be more understandable. We launched a new silhouette, with
unstructured jackets and larger pants, which is now part of the quiet luxury format.” Zegna’s collection
still included formal suits, but they were less visible in the fashion shows. Sartori said, “We did a bold
move, but mostly in how we combine garments. If before, the jacket was sold with a pant, shirt, tie, and
a classic shoe, today we push for different combinations. We do not sell 50 ties anymore, but if you
need one, we still have a few.” The collection also had a more important share of essentials, or garments
that did not change (see Exhibit 6). In 2022, 65% of Zegna’s sales were casual, 35% formal. Essentials
covered 32% of the sales, compared to 16% in 2019, and were expected to grow further in 2023. Edoardo
said, “Our next step was to stop following seasonal fashion trends, but instead to build our
recognizability around fewer iconic items that distill the essence of the brand. I always wear the same
type of shirt, jeans, and shoes during the year. A luxury company goal is being able to define identity
through iconic products.”
Made-to-Measure The formal wear volumes had shrunk in Zegna’s collection, but its sales
decline had been softened by the resilience of made-to-measure. CFO and COO Gianluca Tagliabue
said, “Today the made-to-measure business is about 10% of Zegna’s sales, of which about 85% is from
formal wear, while 15% is from casual.” Made-to-measure garments were all produced in-house and
using Zegna’s fabrics. Angelo said, “Made-to-measure is not just shortening a sleeve. There is more
sartorial work involved than in other companies as our customers choose colors, materials, and styles
for a perfect body fit. We are the only brand doing real made-to-measure, for both casual and formal
wear, and for all sorts of garments ranging from shoes to outerwear and suits. In addition, we can
deliver in as little as two weeks – thanks to our in-house production plants – while our competitors
need at least four.”
The Bespoke Atelier Zegna had set up a few bespoke ateliers in its most important shops,
where a master tailor could receive customers and build outfits from scratch. The one in Milan, for
example, had a separate access from the store and was furnished with images of the founder’s home.
Only a few clients were invited to the atelier and could only get in with an appointment. Each model
was developed by a bespoke master tailor, under the guidance of Sartori. A bespoke tailor said, “We
send all the customer requests and the measures and sketches to Sartori who then shares his
suggestions. We only do a few garments per year and travel all over the world for this. It is not easy to
find talented Italian tailors today and many of us are of an older generation.”
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524-021 Zegna
Collaborations Some garments of the casual collection were developed in partnership with
other brands. Angelo said, “For example, in 2020, we partnered with a streetwear fashion brand to
energize our collection. The collaboration sold well, but the customers did not cross buy with Zegna’s
core assortment. The positioning between Zegna and the streetwear brand was just too far apart.” In
2023, Zegna launched a parallel outdoor line in partnership with Norda, a Canadian company
specializing in high-end trekking garments, which seemed to be a better fit. Angelo said, “For example,
the Norda-Zegna trekking shoe, retailed at about €500, is bringing in more sticky customers.”
Pricing A complete casual wear outfit was made up of several garments, resulting in a higher
bill for the customer, on top of the re-branding which led to richer and more expensive product mix.
In addition, in 2022, Zegna increased prices twice. Gildo said, “I followed the competition as they were
the first to raise prices.” In 2022, it was reducing its presence in outlet stores. Gildo said, “We are
experimenting with a new concept: in some luxury outlets we sell our merchandise at full price (no
discounts). And we are attracting new types of clients!”
Gildo’s son Edoardo, had worked intensively to define Zegna’s new marketing approach. Edoardo
said, “I looked at the brands that can be identified with one product like Hermès for bags and asked
myself: what can I learn from them? One of the basic ways to gain recognizability is consistency.” First,
Edoardo redirected the company’s marketing efforts to more targeted marketing. Edoardo said:
Modern marketing is hyperlocal. This is also our best strategy when we compete with
groups with deep pockets and multiple brands. I stopped advertising in international
airports and focused instead on private airports. Similarly, I do not put my advertising on
all billboards, but rather on those close to places where my aspirational customer goes,
like the bus stop in front of the best restaurant in Milan. I don't advertise in mainstream
fashion magazines, but rather in the local golf club magazine.
At the same time, Zegna boosted partnerships. Edoardo said, “We choose partners with a legacy,
not hype. We became a sponsor of the soccer team Real Madrid, because they are the only ones with
such a history of victories. My goal is to be in my customers’ life and where there are amazing
experiences.”
Edoardo and Sartori developed a new logo, which they insisted should be on all Zegna garments,
including suits. Edoardo said, “I looked at companies that have built a brand that goes beyond the
product, like Patagonia. If you take off their logo, their products are simple and pretty unrecognizable.
I want our customers to buy our product because of the logo and of what it means. The social currency
that logos carry is very powerful.” The new brandmark was made of two stripes and was a direct
reference to the main road of Zegna’s Oasis, a forest that had been developed by the founder of the
company. Edoardo said, “That logo should become the window into our world and our founder’s
values. He understood that the success of his firm was the happiness of the community and invested
in the mountain around the original production plant. He built a natural reserve of 100 square
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Zegna 524-021
kilometers (30 times Central Park), planted more than 500,000 trees, and set up a hospital and houses
for his employees. Nobody else has something similar. We must build our brand around it.”
Increased consistency also meant focusing on specific products. Sartori said, “Our triple stitch
sneaker is the first product that we became consistent on. The shoe was not taking off but was still
selling. We made it lighter, cutting off extra material, and made it available in only one SKU instead of
10 as previously. In fashion it is not only important what you do, but also what you decide not to do.
It was a bold decision, but the right one.” (See Exhibit 7 for a picture of the triple stitch’s new version).
In addition, the company systematically presented the shoe on every occasion it could, or in shows,
events, and all its stores. Edoardo said:
My goal is to be boring so that when a salesperson asks if the customer knows about
the triple stitch and our story, they will say yes and that they already have the shoe. We
were obsessed with what we should sell next, but if a customer has bought 5 colors of the
same shoe, it means that it’s a great product. Our focus should be how to sell that product
to other customers, not what else to offer to that customer. We are not a shoe company
but we expect our triple stitch to soon generate $100 million of sales per year, up from just
$20 million in 2021.
The company had also increased its focus on store productivity. Tagliabue said, “We receive
pressure from our investors to increase our gross margins. Their reference is luxury brands centered
around accessories, like bags, which have gross margins north of 80%. But we are into ready to wear,
where margins are lower because you have the seasons and sizes, and our leather business is small.“
At the store level, the focus was on increasing the ratio of dollar per store’s square meter. Tagliabue
continued, “Analysts look at the ratio dollar per square meter as it’s correlated with profitability. Retail
landlords as well use it to assign retail space. In addition, we want to transform our wholesalers deals
into shop-in-shop contracts, where we bring in our personnel. And this ratio can help us convince
wholesalers that we will bring in many customers.”
Zegna had focused on three key performance indicators (KPI) to increase the ratio. The first was
outreach, or generating sales by inviting customers to the store. During COVID-19, Zegna had started
better defining its customer journey and the moments in which store people should reach out to the
customer, like sending a thank you message right after a store visit, or when to send invitations to come
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524-021 Zegna
back to the store. To help the store managers, it had launched a clientele application software that
prompted them with notifications when it was the right time to send an invitation message to
customers. Angelo said, “We have a data science team that has calculated when the customer is more
likely to shop again based on our customer and sales data. We used to think that we should wait many
months before a new customer would come back shopping, while we learned that the median for
customer coming back shopping is only 25 days.” Store managers received prompts telling them whom
to invite and what item they could suggest to the client, based on previous shopping and store trends.
The app would send prompts also later on in the customer journey. Angelo said, “Our store
attendants are trained to collect information from our customers from their favorite color to the names
of their kids. For example, if when the prompt arrives the store attendant sees in our database that the
customer has a son who is a Real Madrid supporter, and that his birthday is coming up soon, the store
manager can send a different message asking when could be a right time for the client to pick up a
special present for his son concerning Real Madrid.” Zegna had created a “delighting budget” that
store managers could use for such gifts. Angelo said, “I always tell our store people that they are in the
business of developing authentic relationships and gifts accelerate this. We created a menu of
‘delighting gifts’ which are gifts that speak about Zegna’s values and support relationships.” For
example, to a customer who just had a baby, sales attendants could offer a little blanket with a book on
the Oasi Zegna. Customer advisors could distribute these gifts at their discretion. In 2022, 50% of in-
store sales had been originated via outreach. Angelo said, “In addition, outreached customers spent
80% more than the others. There was opposition to this approach internally as we were afraid to bother
customers. But we are not bothering them, we are offering a service and the service is working well.“
The second KPI was net promoter score (NPS), a measure of customer loyalty. Angelo said, “We
believe in the importance of NPS so much that every single manager at Zegna has their bonus tied to
it. A store with low sales but high NPS is a store which I want to reward.” The third was store-level
targets to increase the group of ‘Zegna friends’ per store. Angelo explained, “There are about 2 million
individuals who could afford to spend €50,000 worth merchandise at Zegna per year. This is based on
how many people have assets above a certain threshold. Currently we have too few of them. We have
a huge opportunity to increase the number of these high spenders.“
Zegna’s Customers
Zegna’s customer base had widened with the move to casual. For example, former F1 world
champion race driver Nico Rosberg had recently become a Zegna customer. He said:
In 2022, my wife pushed me to go and visit Zegna as we were in Milan. I was reluctant,
as for me it was associated with formal wear. It’s the dress code of Wall Street bankers.
But when we got in the store and went through all the floors up until the bespoke atelier,
we were impressed by the cool, young, fashionable, and trendy style. How the founder
developed a sustainable business before the sustainability trend started was a plus that
made me stick to the brand today.
The new style had also helped Zegna grow its volumes in countries where casual wear was
particularly booming, like the United States. Sartori said, “With the move to casual, we did not leave
behind customers like the bankers, as we kept offering suits. But many clients who used to buy only
formal at Zegna, now buy also casual. We took advantage of a trend of growing demand of luxury
leisure wear.” The casual stile was bringing existing customers to purchase more Zegna items. Sergio
Ermotti, the CEO of UBS Group AG, a Swiss bank, and the lead non-executive director at Zegna, said:
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Zegna 524-021
I wear suits because as a banker this is how we are expected to dress, but occasionally
I do wear a black pair of triple stitch shoes in less formal meetings. Over time, I moved
from buying a Zegna suit every couple of years, to going to Zegna for most of my
shopping. Most of my casual wear is now Zegna. The brand is so successful that even the
fast fashion company Zara is imitating Zegna’s colors and style, especially for casual wear.
However, once you touch the garments, you can feel the difference.
Some customers believed that casual wear would take over in the future. The CEO of the U.S. bank
JP Morgan and longtime Zegna customer, Jamie Dimon, said, “I think the more casual business attire
will be quite widely accepted over the years to come and is here to stay.”
The growth in markets such as the United States and the Middle East, where the Dubai Mall had
been Zegna’s world top performing store for three years in a row, helped in part to reduce Zegna’s
dependency from the greater China region (China, Hong Kong, and Macau). Tagliabue explained,
“Greater China used to be around 35% of sales before COVID-19, in 2021 jumped to 46% but then
dropped to 33% in 2022, as China went through stringent lockdowns, when the rest of the world had
lifted all restrictions. But sales in China will increase back again in 2023. Our sweet spot is around 35%
of our sales.” [See Exhibit 8 for Zegna’s Group Sales by region].
The only customers Zegna had lost were the Z Zegna brand ones. However, Tagliabue argued,
“Now that Z Zegna has disappeared, knitwear has become a first bite into Zegna. Increasingly also our
triple stitch sneaker, priced between €600 and €1,200, is our entry product. Chanel is such a powerful
brand also because next to the very expensive bags, it sells expensive beauty products, retailed at
around €100, which makes them still affordable. Our triple stitch could serve that purpose.”
Moving Forward
Investors had welcomed Zegna’s move to casual wear. Tagliabue said, “Many of our investors like
that Zegna is still a leader in tailoring, but appreciate that they can now shop for other occasions. But
they see casual as a further challenge, because it is more subject to trends than accessories or formal
wear.” In addition, Zegna’s move to casual wear exposed it to more direct competition.
To secure production, besides buying suppliers, Zegna was also setting up trade schools in
knitwear, shoemaking, fabrics, and other disciplines. Gildo said, “We have a problem in Italy in finding
these types of workers. We are cooperating with the Italian state, but would do it even alone. For
example, just for the triple stitch model, I need few hundred new blue collar workers. I have a similar
issue with knitwear. I am creating my future workforce. I thought about developing a production plant
elsewhere in Italy, but would we be able to transfer know how?”
Gildo also hesitated on Zegna’s purchasing strategy. In June, LVMH had acquired a majority stake
in Italian leather goods supplier Nuti Ivo SpA Group to increase its control of the leather manufacturing
processes within its supply chain.28 If the international groups started investing heavily in bringing in-
house production, would Zegna be able to beat their purchasing offers and keep growing with Italy-
based production? Also, how relevant was the Made-in-Italy brand for casual outdoor wear, a segment
in which Italians were not the market leaders? Gildo also hesitated on moving too far away from formal
wear. He had embraced the new style, but the market showed also that customers were getting back
to suits in 2023. For the next winter collection, Sartori had put back deconstructed suits in the fashion
show of 2023/2024. Was it the right strategy?
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Finally, Gildo thought back at a conversation he had with his team about the company’s accessories,
which covered 15% of sales. Angelo said, “The brands with higher margins are those that have
accessories at the core of their collection. With accessories I exclude shoes, as these come in sizes, like
ready-to-wear. Should we invest in our accessories and get better at bags and wallets, or should we
keep focusing on the triple stitch shoe?” How far could Zegna change its identity? Edoardo had also
shared with the team his doubts on partnerships. He asked, “How far can we go with partnerships
without diluting the brand?” These were all valid questions, but Gildo was not sure of the answer.
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Source: Developed by casewriters from Zegna Annual Report 2021 and 2022.
Note: Figures are adjusted for income and costs which are significant in nature and that management considers not reflective
of underlying operating activities, including, such as costs related to the Business Combination, severance indemnities
and provision for severance expenses, certain costs related to lease agreements and other items . Zegna’s management
referred to the adjusted figures to evaluate its underlying operating performance.
Source: Developed by casewriters from Zegna Annual Report 2021 and 2022.
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a) Geographic Breakdown
Source: Developed by casewriters based on Claudia D’Arpizio, Federica Levato, Filippo Prete, Joelle de Montgonflier, and
Allison Kavanagh, “Renaissance in Uncertainty : Luxury Builds on Its Rebound,” Bain and Co., 2022, at
https://www.bain.com/globalassets/noindex/2023/bain_digest_renaissance-in-uncertainty-luxury-builds-on-its-
rebound.pdf, accessed August 2023.
Source: Developed by casewriters based on Claudia D’Arpizio, Federica Levato, Filippo Prete, Joelle de Montgonflier, and
Allison Kavanagh, “Renaissance in Uncertainty : Luxury Builds on Its Rebound,” Bain and Co., 2022, at
https://www.bain.com/globalassets/noindex/2023/bain_digest_renaissance-in-uncertainty-luxury-builds-on-its-
rebound.pdf, accessed August 2023.
14
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Exhibit 4 Largest Luxury Fashion Brands Groups (in € millions, FY 2022, unless otherwise stated)
a) Key Players
Gross %
HQ Market N. of Profit Italian
Group Country Value brands Revenue EBIT Margin EBITDA brands
LVMH France 429,273 75 79,184 21,018 68.4 23,908 20
Kering France 61,844 16 20,351 5,589 74.7 6,322 31
Richemont Switzerland 88,054 20 19,953 5,087 66.7 5,734 10
Source: Compiled by casewriters based on Capital IQ for financial data; casewriters analysis for the other columns.
b) Key Players in the Menswear Segment: FY 2022 financials in € millions, except for Pricing Range
(in € for 2023 data)
Source: Developed by casewriters based own research from each company’s website, www.zippia.com (For Tom Ford and
Gucci), Capital IQ and Statista data for the financials; Armani’s financials are as reported by the company; LV
financials are as estimated by “LVMH,“ zonebourse.com, at www.zonebourse.com, all accessed August 1, 2023.
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-16-
524-021
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Note: NPS stands for Net Promoter Score which is a measure of the loyalty of customers in a company. NPS scores are
measured following a single question survey and reported with a number between -100 and +100. The higher the score
the better.
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Source: Company courtesy and Geordie Wood for Time, “Time 100 Most Influencial Peolple 2022, Tim Cook,” Time Cover
Store, May 23, 2022, https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177769/tim-cook-titans/,
accessed August 2023.
Note: In the Time100 cover, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple Inc, is wearing triple stitch sneakers.
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Exhibit 8 Zegna Group Sales by Region, 2018-2022 (inclusive of B2B textile sales)
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
EMEA Italy United Middle North United Latin APAC Greater Japan Other EMEA
(Excl. Kingdom East and America States America (Excl. China (Excl.
Italy, UK Africa (Excl. Greater Region Italy &
& MEA) (MEA) U.S.) China UK
Region &
Japan)
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
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524-021 Zegna
Endnotes
6“LVMH: A Timeline Behind the Building of the World’s Most Valuable Luxury Goods Group,” The Fashion Law, October 5,
2021, https://www.thefashionlaw.com/lvmh-a-timeline-behind-the-building-of-a-conglomerate/, accessed July 2023.
7 Kering, “Group History,” Kering website, at https://www.kering.com/en/group/culture-and-heritage/group-
history/?page=3, accessed July 2023.
8“Ermenegildo Zegna,” Fashion Man, https://fashion.mam-e.it/ermenegildo-zegna/, accessed July 2023.
9 Dominique Muret, “Ermenegildo Zegna sells Agnona, bids farewell to Simon Holloway ,“ Fashion Network, August 27, 2020,
https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Ermenegildo-zegna-sells-agnona-bids-farewell-to-simon-holloway,1238593.html,
accessed July 2023.
10”How Zegna Italian Luxury Retailer Is Reinventing Itself as a Public Company,” Forbes, December 27, 2021
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brinsnelling/2021/12/27/how-zegna-italian-luxury-retailer-is-reinventing-itself-as-a-public-
company/, accessed July 2023.
11 Claudia D’Arpizio, Federica Levato, Filippo Prete, Joelle de Montgonflier, and Allison Kavanagh, “Renaissance in
Uncertainty : Luxury Builds on Its Rebound,” Bain and Co., 2022, at
https://www.bain.com/globalassets/noindex/2023/bain_digest_renaissance-in-uncertainty-luxury-builds-on-its-
rebound.pdf, accessed August 2023.
12 Claudia D’Arpizio, Federica Levato, Filippo Prete, Joelle de Montgonflier, and Allison Kavanagh, “Renaissance in
Uncertainty : Luxury Builds on Its Rebound,” Bain and Co., 2022, at
https://www.bain.com/globalassets/noindex/2023/bain_digest_renaissance-in-uncertainty-luxury-builds-on-its-
rebound.pdf, accessed August 2023.
13 Daniel Yaw Miller , “Explainer — Why the Menswear Market Is on Fire,” Business of Fashion, July 13, 2022,
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/retail/menswear-market-growth/; “Luxury goods: in-depth market analysis,”
Market Insights report, Statista, June 2023, available at https://www-statista-com.ezp-
prod1.hul.harvard.edu/study/61582/luxury-goods-in-depth-market-analysis/, accessed July 2023; Claudia D’Arpizio,
Federica Levato, Filippo Prete, Joelle de Montgonflier, and Allison Kavanagh, “Renaissance in Uncertainty : Luxury Builds on
Its Rebound,” Bain and Co., 2022, at https://www.bain.com/globalassets/noindex/2023/bain_digest_renaissance-in-
uncertainty-luxury-builds-on-its-rebound.pdf, accessed August 2023.
14 ”Shaping the Luxury Menswear Market,“ Lectra.com, July 2022, https://www.lectra.com/en/library/shaping-the-luxury-
menswear-market, accessed July 2023.
15 Gucci Website, “What is New: Gucci -Adidas,” https://www.gucci.com/fr/fr/ca/whats-new/adidas-x-gucci-c-adidas-
gucci-
products?gclid=787b4fcbf02e15eff75e2b5e69064502&gclsrc=3p.ds&&utm_source=bing_fr&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign
=FR%7CFR%7CSRC%7CBrand%7CCollections%7CU%7CCollaborations&utm_term=FR%7CFR%7CSRC%7CBrand%7CCollec
tions%7CU%7CCollaborations_Adidas+Collaboration+%5BFR+-
+FR%5D_gucci+adidas+collab_e&msclkid=787b4fcbf02e15eff75e2b5e69064502, accessed July 2023.
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26 Gianluca Guarino, “78% of Luxury Fashion, Worldwide, is Made in Italy,” January 13, 2023,
https://www.theconservative.online/78-of-luxury-fashion-worldwide-is-made-in-italy, accessed July 2023.
27 Claudio Marenzi, “How Italy Is Built On Fashion,” Google Arts and Culture,
https://artsandculture.google.com/theme/how-italy-is-built-on-fashion/gAIC9FJsetDDIA?hl=en “The Italian Textile
Industry,” ITMA services June 2022, chrome-
extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://itma.com/admin/itma/media/itma/ITMA/The_Italian_Textile_In
dustry/The-Italian-Textile-Industry.pdf, accessed July 2023.
28 Michelle Russel, “Deal of the Week: LVMH acquires majority stake in Nuti Ivo to integrate supply chain,” Just-Style.com,
June 7, 2023, https://www.just-style.com/news/lvmh-acquires-majority-stake-in-nuti-ivo-to-integrate-supply-chain/,
accessed July 2023.
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