Liu Jo Group Takes Over Blugirl and Miss Blumarine Licensees
MILAN — If you want something done, do it yourself.
That must be something that crossed the mind of Italian entrepreneur Marco Marchi when he decided through his own fashion company Liu Jo Group to take over the licenses of Blufin’s contemporary and children’s wear lines.
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In 2019, Marchi, through his Eccellenze Italiane holding, which also has an investment in Italian retailer Coin SpA, acquired Blufin, Blumarine’s parent company, from the Tarabini family.
In the first phase of the relaunch of the company, Marchi put the focus on Blumarine, hiring a new creative director, Nicola Brognano, who succeeded Anna Molinari, and reorganizing its distribution. Now the entrepreneur is trying to boost the business of the Blugirl contemporary brand and of Miss Blumarine, the line dedicated to children and young girls.
The Liu Jo Group, which operates the Liu Jo contemporary label with a turnover of more than 300 million euros and a retail network of 419 stores, will produce and distribute the apparel, accessories and beachwear collections of both the Blugirl and Miss Blumarine labels.
“I think that now that the market is normalizing after the COVID-19 shakeup, it’s the right moment to relaunch these historic brands, through a credible project developed by a company with big credibility in the industry,” Marchi said.
The entrepreneur highlighted that the two collections, which will be designed by dedicated in-house teams, will be distributed through the wholesale channel, especially in Europe, Russia and the Middle East. “But we won’t neglect Asia,” Marchi said. “Our main goal will be to develop a strategic distribution, supporting our commercial partners and organically growing with them.”
Blumarine won’t be part of the deal and will continue to be managed separately by Blufin. “When the pandemic kicked off, we were just reshuffling the brand with a new creative direction, new products and a new distribution,” Marchi said. “However, despite the difficulties of the moment, we are very proud that the most influential music and entertainment talents in the United States spontaneously decided to wear Blumarine, giving a strong boost to the international visibility of the brand.” Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Rihanna and Gwen Stefani have been among the latest celebrities to wear the brand.
Blumarine currently operates 18 mono brand stores and its collections are available in 142 multibrand shops worldwide.
Marchi said he expected a positive rebound in the second half of 2021, which he thinks will help his Eccellenze Italiane holding to close the year with growth compared to 2019.
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