Loro Piana, the Italian luxury goods company had a good year in 2011 when the revenues grew 17% over the previous year. The growth momentum seems to growing in the new year with the first two months sales growing at 30% over the previous year figures. Their high priced clothes and accessories are selling briskly at 135 company stores. Their customer base is the jet-set, horse jumping and sailing regatta crowd who can afford to buy chino pants for $795. The family owned Italian luxury company is launching online stores to further expand their reach and sales.
The online site will be ready to do business in the US this spring. Visitors to the site will be able to order next season’s mink-lined raincoat, or riding boots with a bag fitted to carry them, and have them delivered within four days. Along with new ideas the company is bringing in new blood and inducting the next generation into the business. Franco, 29, and Giacomo, 31 who are Pier Luigi’s sons were standing with their father and uncle while displaying the family’s latest product lines at Milan.
Franco, who has undergone a two year stint at Luxotica in Cincinnati is being placed in Southeast Asia to oversee the company’s operations there. He believes that being a scion in a family owned business places huge responsibilities on young shoulders. He is looking up to his uncle to learn the operations of the company. They are optimistic about the new online operations to be launched. They hope to develop as the go-to source for gifts and the very high end gifts at that. There will be luxuriant iPad covers, cashmere helicopter toys, and blankets that double as a chess board. The application in the website will enable the recipient of the gift to choose the size and color of the object without seeing the price.
Via: blogs.wsj
