Heads and tales
Legendary Italian hat maker to the stars bows out
AFTER 160 years of lending a rakish look to the likes of Winston Churchill, Humphrey Bogart and Indiana Jones, Italian hat company Borsalino has been declared bankrupt.
Known for its stylish fedoras and panamas, Borsalino was declared insolvent after a court in Alessandria, Italy, rejected a rescue plan and placed the company in administration.
The judge refused a request for court protection from the firm’s creditors, who are owed around €18m (£16m). The firm has a long line of illustrious customers, including Johnny Depp, singer Pharrell Williams and film director Federico Fellini, but its popularity with celebrities was not enough to save it from poor management.
The company, based in Alessandria in Piedmont, has been in financial difficulties since 2013.
It has been run since 2015 by Haeres Equita, a private equity investment fund, which invested around €10m. Borsalino returned to profit in 2015 but was still struggling with debt and sought court protection from creditors. But a plan to save the business was thrown out this week.