Roberto Cavalli’s new owners are cutting 200 jobs, closing stores and replacing the fashion house’s creative director in a reorganisation aimed at making a profit by 2018.
Chief Executive Gian Giacomo Ferraris said the reorganisation is necessary given the fashion industry is one where “only iconic brands with a coherent business model and an efficient organisation can survive.”
The company unveiled the plans on Wednesday after announcing creative director Peter Dundas was leaving after only three seasons.
The Norwegian-born Dundas had worked at Cavalli during its heyday from 2002-2005 and returned in March 2015 after completing a seven-year run as Pucci’s creative director. He had the delicate task of reviving a brand viewed as past its prime while retaining its most iconic elements after the house founder, Roberto Cavalli, sold a majority stake to private equity firm Clessidra.
Cavalli retains a 10 per cent stake and remains a consultant.
The reorganisation calls for closing Roberto Cavalli’s Milan corporate and design offices and relocating them to Florence, closing some stores and reducing the global headcount of 672 by 200, a statement said.
Several other fashion houses have been undergoing similar reorganisations on both creative and administrative sides.
