Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.

Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.
Public, S.p.A.
Traded as BIT: SFER
Industry Fashion
Founded Florence, Italy (1928)
Founder Salvatore Ferragamo
Headquarters Florence, Italy
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Ferruccio Ferragamo (President)
Michele Norsa (CEO and General Manager)
Massimiliano Giornetti (Creative Director)
Products Shoes, leather goods, clothing
Revenue Increase€1,152.9 million (2012)
Increase €194.3 million (2012)
Profit Increase€125.2 million (2012)
Owner Ferragamo family
Number of employees
 4,033[1]
Website www.ferragamo.com

Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. [salvaˈtoːre ferraˈɡaːmo] is an Italian luxury goods company, with headquarters in Florence, specializing in shoes,[2] leather goods, and ready-to-wear for men and women. It is the parent company of the Ferragamo Group. The company also licences eyewear and watches.

With about 2,600 employees and a network of over 550 mono-brand stores, the Ferragamo Group runs operations in Italy and worldwide, which provide the brand with a broad footprint in Europe, America and Asia.

History

Palazzo Spini Feroni: The headquarters of Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. in Florence.

Salvatore Ferragamo emigrated from southern Italy to Boston and then California in 1914. He opened the Hollywood Boot Shop in 1923, and made shoes[2] for movie stars such as Joan Crawford and Gloria Swanson, as well as for films such as Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments.[3] He returned to Italy and set up a shoe shop in Florence in 1927.[4] However, the modern shoemaking company regards 1928 as the date of its foundation and so celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2008.[3] Salvatore filed for bankruptcy in 1933, during the Great Depression, but by 1938 he was in a position to buy the Palazzo Spini Feroni, one of the great palaces of Florence,[3] which now houses the company's flagship store and a museum dedicated to Ferragamo's life and work.

The company flourished after World War II, expanding the workforce to 700 craftsmen producing 350 pairs of hand-made shoes a day. After Salvatore's death in 1960, his widow Wanda took over the running of the business and expanded its operations to include eyewear, perfume, belts, scarves,[4] bags, watches, and a ready to wear clothing line.

Ferruccio Ferragamo, current president of Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.

The company is currently owned by the Ferragamo family, which in November 2006 included Salvatore's widow Wanda, five children, 23 grandchildren and other relatives.[5] There is a rule that only 3 members of the family can work at the company, prompting fierce competition.[5] To ease these tensions, in September 2006, the family announced a plan to float 48% of the company on the stock market, and since October 2006 Michele Norsa has served as managing and general director.[4] However, as of January 2008, this plan may be on put on hold in the midst of the downturn in the financial market.[6] If the listing on the stock market proceeds, the fund will be directed primarily towards building its positions in China.[7] The company is holding its 80th birthday exhibition in Shanghai.[3]

For the fiscal year 2014, Salvatore Ferragamo reported preliminary consolidated revenues of 1,332 million euros (1,508 million dollars) As of December 31, 2014, the Salvatore Ferragamo Group's retail network consisted of 373 directly operated stores (DOS), while the wholesale and travel retail channel included 270 third party operated stores (TPOS), as well as presence in major department stores and high-end multi-brand specialty stores. [8]


Innovations

Throughout its history, the company has been known for innovative designs and use of materials. Such ingenuity goes back to Salvatore's time in California, when he studied anatomy to make shoes which were more comfortable. Notable innovations include the wedge heel, the shell-shaped sole, the ‘invisible’ sandal, metal heels and soles, the 18-carat gold sandal, the sock-shoe, sculpture heels, and the gloved arch shoe created for the Maharani of Cooch Behar in 1938.[3] Metal-reinforced stiletto heels were made famous by Marilyn Monroe.[4] The company is also known for the ‘Gancini’ decoration, the ‘Vara’ patent ballet pump, the Salvatore bag and the use of patchwork.[3] It makes also eyewear and watches in partnership with Luxottica and Timex Group; in 2011 the first line of jewelry Ferragamo was made in collaboration with Gianni Bulgari. Recently, the company launched "My Ferragamo", which is a new addition to the brand, and is being seen by the company as a push for the younger generation.

Clients

Salvatore worked with film stars and celebrities from his earliest days in Hollywood. Clients over the years included Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and Greta Garbo,[4] as well as Andy Warhol, Grace Mugabe and Diana, Princess of Wales.[3] The company made Margaret Thatcher's famous handbags[7] and for King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck during the coronation on November 6, 2008 in Thimpu, Bhutan.

Italian locales

Ferruccio Ferragamo in 1992

In addition to its historical flagship store at the Palazzo Spini Feroni in Florence, Ferragamo has two stores in Milan, two in Rome and 14 in prestigious locations in Naples, Genoa, Turin, Capri, Portofino and Venice.

International locations

Europe

In Europe, it has a total of 58 shops it directly controls, including a flagship in Paris's Avenue Montaigne and one in the Atkinsons Building in London's Old Bond Street. The shops are found in major cities in France, Germany, the UK and Spain, as well as in Brussels, Athens, Monte Carlo, Vienna, Prague and Amsterdam.

North America

Salvatore Ferragamo markets products in North America from Canada to Hawaii, with 25 directly controlled points of sale. In the United States, Ferragamo has 15 boutiques in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Of particular note are the flagship stores at Fifth Avenue in New York City and at Copley Place in Boston, as well as in Beverly Hills and Honolulu. The company opened its first Canadian store in July 2013, in Toronto. In addition to its free standing stores, there are many shop-in-shops and corners in the department stores in the U.S.

Latin America

Salvatore Ferragamo recently extended direct control in Latin America by setting up Ferragamo Mexico, which directly handles 20 points of sale in the country including the first flagship store in Latin America. It also has a select distribution circuit in numerous countries, from Venezuela to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Panama, Colombia and Peru. In Brazil, the Salvatore Ferragamo group has begun in a luxury department store, called Daslu. After that, direct control stores were opened in São Paulo (3 stores) and Rio de Janeiro (1 store).

Japan

Salvatore Ferragamo has had directly controlled operations in Japan since the early 70s and can now count on a distribution network of 64 directly controlled points of sale, through Japanese department stores such as Iwataya and Daimaru. It has two flagship stores, one in Ginza, Tokyo, and one in Osaka, opened in October 2004. 27 percent of its revenue in 2005, €575m euros, came from Japan.[9]

Asia Pacific

Through its Hong Kong headquarters, Salvatore Ferragamo controls its distribution operations in the following 11 countries in Asia and Oceania: Hong Kong (flagship in Canton Road), Taiwan (flagship in Taipei 101), China (flagship in Shanghai), India (flagship in DLF Emporio, New Delhi), Korea (flagship in Seoul), Singapore, Thailand (flagship in Paragon), Malaysia (duplex flagship at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur), Indonesia, Doha (The Pearl), Qatar, Australia and Philippines. In 2010 a massive expansion plan was set to expand the presence of Salvatore Ferragamo in the Philippines. The plan includes the renovation of all four stores in Manila and Cebu and the opening of Resorts World Manila store and the opening of another two stores in 2012.

Officers and management

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ http://group.ferragamo.com/wps/wcm/connect/736a79e3-6db0-44c5-bfa0-18a8d7857e2b/Annual+Report+as+at+31+December+2015.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=736a79e3-6db0-44c5-bfa0-18a8d7857e2b
  2. 1 2 Chevalier, Michel; Gerald Mazzalovo (2012). "3". Luxury Brand Management (second ed.). Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-118-17176-9.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Salvatore Ferragamo celebrates its 80th Anniversary in Shanghai (PDF), Salvatore Ferragamo Italia SpA, retrieved 2008-04-20
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Webb, Tim (2007), "Leonardo Ferragamo: Angels want to wear his red shoes", The Independent, London (published 2007-02-04), retrieved 2008-04-20
  5. 1 2 Sherman, Lauren (2006), "When Fashion Goes Public", Forbes (published 2006-11-16), retrieved 2008-04-20
  6. ↑ Finch, Julia (2008), "Tommy Hilfiger halts flotation", The Guardian, London (published 2008-01-25), retrieved 2008-04-20
  7. 1 2 Cartner-Morley, Jess (2008), written at Shanghai, "From Florence to Shanghai, Ferragamo eyes a makeover", The Guardian, London (published 2008-03-29), retrieved 2008-04-20
  8. ↑ Singh, Prachi (January 30, 2015). "Salvatore Ferragamo revenues rise of 5.9 percent in FY14". FashionUnited. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  9. ↑ Japan is the world's most concentrated source of revenue for luxury brands, Jetro.org

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