Leather goods brand Zagliani shelved; workshop taken over by Bally  

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Mar 12, 2015

German group JAB Luxury (formerly Labelux) is streamlining its brand portfolio while making the most of complimentary interests. The luxury division of JAB (Joh. A. Benckiser) Holdings owns Bally, Jimmy Choo and Belstaff Zagliani. The latter, a very high-end leather goods brand founded in Milan in 1947, joined the group in 2009.

Having invested heavily to revitalize the historic Italian company, which specializes in bags and fully handmade luxury leather goods for men and women, JAB Luxury seems to have changed its mind by shelving the brand.

 
According to sources, the group is putting an end to its Zagliani investments and discontinuing the release of its collections with spring-summer 2015. Designer Giorgia Scarpa, who has served as the brand’s creative director since 2012, ended his contract last month, Zagliani’s last collection having been presented at the recent Milan Fashion Week.   

Only the production workshop, which is located in the south of Milan, will remain in business. It has been incorporated as part of the Bally brand. The Swiss footwear label, which is also owned by JAB Luxury, made the announcement a few days ago, gaining exclusive use of the prestigious workshop where 30 highly skilled craftsmen renowned for their expertise work, particularly in the treatment of crocodile skins.

This workshop, which is dedicated to women’s products, fills out the production capacity of Bally, which also has a facility specialized in men’s footwear in Switzerland. 

It will enable the Swiss footwear brand to increase its range in the women's segment, which is expected to reach between 15 and 20% of its total revenues within five years. With the expertise of Zagliani, Bally will primarily be able to offer high-end bags and a custom service to strengthen its position in the luxury sector.

The new unit will be led by Giovanni Torchiani, an Italian leather specialist (Rossimoda Sergio Rossi), named Bally’s "vice president of manufacturing" in October 2014.

The efforts made last year by Zagliani with the launch of its first advertising campaign and an e-commerce site clearly weren’t enough to boost sales...