MILAN — Brioni is running without a chief executive officer.
After 15 years as ceo of the Italian luxury clothing company, Umberto Angeloni said in an exclusive interview that he no longer holds the top position.
“There is no chief executive of this company at the moment,” Angeloni said after Brioni’s runway show last week during the spring collections here.
He declined to elaborate on what precipitated the change, or exactly how it came about. Angeloni noted, however, that the Brioni board was dismantled this summer and a new board formed, of which he is a member, but no ceo has been appointed.
Even so, the soft-spoken executive acted as though it was business as usual, glad-handing the press and receiving retailers before the show.
“The process to decide who and when there should be a new ceo or new ceo’s is very much in debate amongst the owners of the company,” Angeloni said, adding that, as a board member and shareholder, he was “very much interested in the well-being of the company.”
“I cannot tell you when there will be a ceo or ceo’s or who [he or they] will be,” he added.
The revelation came after weeks of speculation about Angeloni’s role and what are said to be increasingly complicated dynamics between the controlling members of Brioni, who are the descendants of the company’s founding fathers: Nazareno Fonticoli, the master tailor, and Gaetano Savini, the original fashion coordinator.
“Brioni is doing brilliantly,” Angeloni said, noting that consolidated sales for this year are expected to climb 13 percent to 182 million euros, or $230 million at current exchange. “It is absolutely not one of those situations where there are financial or economic problems that lead to internal conflict.”
Angeloni, who married one of Fonticoli’s granddaughters and worked several years at Brioni before taking over as ceo in 1990, remained calm and composed when pressed to explain the board’s indecision. “I suppose the decision-making [at Brioni] has to do with the next steps, the growth of the company and governance,” he said.
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In the past, Brioni contemplated a possible public listing or selling a minority share to a private equity fund in order to fuel growth. But no such action was taken.
“A company like Brioni has many options of growth and diversification. Some of those decisions would be more organic and others would be more bold,” Angeloni said. “Brioni requires a common vision, which is not short-term but long-term. I have my own vision and obviously there is a need for a consensus.”
Other family members could not be reached for comment, but Angeloni’s words suggested that a consensus on how to run the brand has not been reached.
The public face — and to many industry insiders, the soul — of Brioni, Angeloni spearheaded the company’s transformation from a high-end men’s tailored clothing concern into a global luxury goods brand. His visions for the brand — from retail openings to high-glam AR-designed ad campaigns to tony polo tournaments on the Brioni Islands in Croatia — were bold, ambitious and expensive.
A source close to the company said members of the Savini family grew frustrated with the high cost of Angeloni’s marketing projects, which include a book series, product tie-ins with the James Bond film franchise and, most recently, an aggressive push into women’s wear. “There seemed to be a lot of discontent among the other family members,” the source said.
The women’s business has been bumpy. In a bid to reposition its women’s line as a luxury designer brand, Brioni hired former Prada assistant and Lanvin designer Cristina Ortiz as its women’s creative director earlier this year. Ortiz’s first two shows have received lukewarm reviews, although the commercial collection is said to be selling well.
As one top retailer recently suggested, the brand needs to get a “real women’s merchandiser” in-house.
Still, Brioni grew exponentially under Angeloni’s tenure, and is on track to break $230 million in sales this year. Brioni’s former U.S. president, Joe Barrato, was instrumental in building the solid business the brand now enjoys there.
His son is currently manning the showroom, and retailers said there has been no blip in operations following the senior Barrato’s move to Polo Ralph Lauren in June.
As Brioni’s profile grew, so did Angeloni’s. An impeccably dressed, graceful man, Angeloni has emerged as a distinguished leader in the luxury field.
He has spoken at the International Herald Tribune’s luxury goods conference and has written several books on the luxury experience, including works on single-malt scotch and well-being. Angeloni is currently working on an essay on the motivations and mind-set of what he calls the “modern rich.”
Angeloni declined to discuss his long-term future, saying only that he planned on staying with the company for a “reasonable amount of time.”
However, he wanted to reassure the industry that the current unfolding of events would not have a negative impact on Brioni’s day-to-day business. “There is a culture of expertise, professionalism and operations that are guaranteed. Brioni will always have the same level of quality and service,” he said. “What we’re talking about here is something else — it’s about the brand’s evolution and the continuation of the glamour. These things need to be fed.”