MILAN – Davide De Giglio is further committing to its men’s beauty brand Eredi Zucca.
The New Guards Group’s cofounder has named the label’s first chief executive officer: Fabio Cantù, who will spearhead the next phase of expansion of the Milanese grooming brand De Giglio that launched in 2023.
Eredi Zucca is one of the ventures in De Giglio’s investment firm D Capital, which he created after exiting NGG in June 2023 — four years after the business was sold to Farfetch. Others include Isamaya Beauty, Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, a 55 percent stake in menswear brand Umit Benan, and Volzhenka Caviar.
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Cantù has served as chief commercial officer at Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella in the past. Appointed in February 2022, he fueled its growth by opening 35 stores in three years, before moving to Autry for a brief stint.
“I’ve know Davide for quite some time,” said Cantù in his first interview in the role. “At the time, he started sharing his ideas around Eredi Zucca… and he already had such a clear vision for it.”
Cantù praised Eredi Zucca’s unique proposition and its specific expertise in grooming, which he sees as a key differentiator in the luxury men’s self care segment. In his new role Cantù will be challenged to strengthen the label’s positioning and raise its international profiles, and expand it into a lifestyle brand with a broader product assortment and distribution. The goal is to reach 30 million euros in sales by 2029, said the executive.
“There are few brands that have an authentic combination of experience and products, which is what customers are looking for,” said Cantù. “They are looking for a sense of belonging. The codes of this brand… are anchored on values of self care, tradition and time management, which is the ultimate luxury.”
“There’s no other Made in Italy brand dedicated to men that is so well-rounded like this one,” he continued. “This doesn’t mean we don’t have competitors but that we are in the position of strength to look at others and observe their best practices.”
Officially launched in 2023, the brand builds on the legacy of the Zucca family of barbers, which dates back to 1652, when Carlo Antonio Zucca opened his first barber shop in Milan. As a first step of the project, De Giglio wanted to bring back the authentic barber experience, opening the Barberia of Eredi Zucca barber shop in Milan with a full range of products encompassing grooming, hair care, body care, skin care, tools and accessories.
The high-end products are in sync with the barber shop’s old-school aesthetic, combining columns, capitals and green marble with opulent mosaic flooring, black ebony walls, coffered ceilings and metopes crafted by Venetian glassmakers. Services include shaving, hair care and facial treatments, ranging from express face massages and 30-minute beard trimming priced at 30 euros and 50 euros, respectively, to two-hour long beauty sessions for 230 euros.
Later this year another flagship will be added in a European capital, teased Cantù, keeping details under wrap. The goal is to open about eight locations in the midterm — including a permanent barber shop in London next year — that can be destination points for its community comprising a local audience of white collars and traveling businessmen averagely aged 30 to 60.
In the meantime, this month Eredi Zucca will set up a pop-up at Rinascente in Milan, a first opportunity to test the brand in a wider context, as the company is in ongoing negotiations to expand its wholesale footprint, too.
Already counting on the support of specialists like Campomarzio70, Crème de la Crème and Haker, as well as being distributed at fashion destinations like Antonia in Milan, the brand aims to reach 100 wholesale doors by the end of 2026. The priority will be consolidating the presence in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, with a rollout plan in the Middle East to be empowered by a partnership with Al Tayer Group, for one.
At the same time, Eredi Zucca will test the potential of the U.S. and Asia — especially China, South Korea and Japan — online, before committing to brick-and-mortar openings. Next month Eredi Zucca will revamp its website, enriched with editorial content highlighting the storytelling behind the brand.
“What we’ve learned so far from our online store is that there are geographies beyond the ones we’re physically present that are very interested in the brand — first and foremost the U.S., whose customers generate our highest tickets on average. So of course we’re interested in that market, but we want to explore it digitally first,” said Cantù.
The product assortment will be enhanced, as well. As reported, in September last year the label launched personal fragrances with an eight-item line that pays tribute to the history of Milan. This year, four new fragrances will debut, as will ancillary products like hand creams, body washes and soaps.
The goal is to engage with customers in different moments of their day, gradually expanding the catalog into a lifestyle proposition. To this end, in December Eredi Zucca introduced its first home collection, with home fragrances and candles in five scents.