Chairman, CEO of Zegna Group talks Saudi expansion plans
It has been quite a year for family firm Ermenegildo Zegna Group. The Italian company last week announced it had signed an agreement to enter into a long-term license for Tom Ford fashion with the Estee Lauder Companies. In December last year, the company went public on the
New York Stock Exchange with a market cap of $2.4 billion. The luxury menswear label also significantly rebranded, adopting a singular name, Zegna, and a minimalist logo.
And now, the group’s chairman and chief executive officer, Gildo Zegna, has spoken to Arab News about Zegna’s expansion plans for Saudi Arabia.
With the Middle East and Africa reporting recent quarterly growth of 86.4 percent year-on-year, the region is considered a key market for the company.
Zegna said: “Our Dubai Mall store has become the benchmark for our business – 30 different nationalities shop there daily – it’s just unbelievable.”
And following a trip to Saudi Arabia, Zegna revealed that expansion plans are in full swing.
“It was a very exciting trip – I am amazed to see the resources the people are putting into the country – they want to invest in the future and modernity.
“The key is to be there with good partners which we have (Al-Malki Group), and I think we’re going to get great locations,” he added.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia will see the opening of two Zegna boutiques, with several more in the pipeline within the next three to five years.
It was in 1910 when Ermenegildo Zegna established Lanificio Zegna, a wool mill making the finest textiles from natural fibers, in his hometown of Trivero, Italy. The business grew into a luxury group including menswear, Thom Browne, acquired in 2018, and its Made in Italy Luxury Textile Laboratory Platform.
And they are still innovating. “Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, I called in the executive committee to launch a new project that changed the perception of Zegna from tailoring to luxury leisure wear – that was the beginning of a new era and probably one of the smartest decisions I made,” Zegna said. Referring to the overshirt and casual pants he was wearing for the Arab News interview, the company boss said it was the new Zegna norm and an approach that appealed to loyalists and younger generations.