Baldinini Debuts Collab With Arthur Arbesser Eurazeo Brands Buys Beekman 1802
● The tie-up between the footwear specialist and the Milan-based designer will be unveiled at the upcoming edition of Pitti Uomo.
MILAN — Footwear specialist Baldinini is aiming to grow bigger and more trenddriven as part of rebranding strategies spearheaded by its chief executive officer Christian Prazzoli, who was appointed to the role in June 2020.
The first fruits of the revamp include the brand's first collaboration with an established designer: Arthur Arbesser. The Austrian-born, Milan-based creative was tasked with creating a capsule collection of 10 styles for both men and women.
They will be officially unveiled at the upcoming edition of Pitti Uomo, running Jan. 11 to 13, with a dedicated event held at the Fortezza da Basso venue.
“Fashion brands can no longer be selfcentered and self-referential, they need cross-pollination and Arthur Arbesser was the perfect match,” Prazzoli underscored.
Asked about the rationale for tapping a designer who's not immediately associated with the footwear industry, the CEO stressed that that was precisely the intention as he and Baldinini — now boasting a revamped, edgier logo — wanted to experiment and grasp fresh creative energy from someone not in the same business as theirs.
Arbesser said he embraced the challenge of translating his knack for graphics and colors into high-end footwear designs with enthusiasm and curiosity.
The output of the collaboration includes men's brogues with sturdy soles, as well as women's cowboy booties and combat boots crafted from pony skin embellished by Arbesser's signature art-driven patterns.
Although the company has appointed a ghost creative director and the CEO ruled out naming a public-facing figure for the role, he admitted that the company is aiming to launch several collaborations throughout the year, always “tapping creatives from outside the [footwear] world,” and turn this approach into an endemic component of the new strategy.
Facing increasing competition from marquee names with marketing prowess, Baldinini is expecting to tap into the promising affordable luxury segment, relying on its Made in Italy and high-quality offering. The latter has been streamlined and halved as part of a rationalization and fine-tuning process.
“My job here is to lead the company's transition from ‘as is' to [what it needs] to be,” Prazzoli said. “The pandemic has accelerated trends and spurred needs that were already there. I joined the company with the precise task of doing something new and different,” he added, noting new hires have been made across departments to add a fresh point of view to business decisions.
Business-wise, the CEO is focused on fostering the brand's growth by pursuing different avenues.
Unlike competitors, Bladinini has historically been a retail-driven company and Prazzoli believes this is an asset to be further exploited.
The brand counts 120 units among directly operated and franchised flagship stores. Prazzoli's goal is to expand Baldinini's footprint in Eastern Europe, Germany and Russia. In the latter country, it counts nine stores but plans to increase the count to 20 in two to three years.
Other key regional targets include China, where it has four stores in the Beijing area, as well as South Korea and the U.S., leveraging local partners.
The CEO said the company was impacted by the pandemic and saw a 35 percent drop in 2020 revenues compared to the previous year. With sales expected to jump 10 percent this year, Prazzoli forecast that the company will reach the 45 million euros threshold in year-end figures.