Marzotto

Marzotto S.p.A.

Industry	Textiles
Founded	1836
Headquarters	Valdagno , Italy
Key people	Antonio Favrin (president)
Revenue	356.8 mil Euro (2018)
Number of employees	3,245 (2018)
Website	marzottogroup.it

TheMarzotto Groupis an Italiantextilemanufacturer, based inValdagno.

Created in 1836 as theLanificio Luigi Marzotto & Figli.In 2005 Marzotto Group's textile business separated fromValentino Fashion Group.

The Group manufactureswoollenandcottonyarns for clothing, and through equity investments, woollen yarns for knitwear,linenyarns andsilk.

History

Marzotto headquarters

Early years

As a member of the nobility,Luigi Marzotto(1773-1859) founded awoolmill inValdagnoin 1836 with a capital of 2 000Venetian Lira,equivalent to $100 000 in the nineties.He handed the business to his sonGaetanoin 1842. After the unification of thekingdom of Italyin 1861, Gaetano bought a spinning factory nearbyMaglione.By then, the company's payroll had risen to over 1.200 employees.

After Gaetano's death in 1910, Marzotto S.p.A. split in two, so his grandson took over theMaglionefactory and his sonVittorio Emanuele Marzotto,who has been credited with leading the company into the export business, took over theValdagnooperations.

Mid-Twentieth Century

In 1920, Gaetano Jr. inherited the Valdagno mill. According to the company history, Gaetano Jr. modernized the company and expanded during the 1920s, allowing it to survive theGreat Depressionwithout being nationalized, and reacquiring the family mill inMaglione.In 1935, Gaetano created an agricultural complex betweenFossalta di Portogruaroand theVenetian Lagoon,called it after his wife, Margherita Lampertico Marzotto.

During the World War II, the company was under government control. However, Gaetano recover the company at the end of the conflict and took advantage of theItalian economic miracle.

In the 1950s, Marzotto S.p.A. diversified in the manufacturing of private-label menswear,Principe by Marzotto.After going public in 1961 with a listing on theMilanexchange marketBorsa Italiana,the company started exporting its products to theUnited States.To reduce labour costs, 40 percent of the clothing production would eventually be transferred there.

Expansion

Between the 1980s and 1990s, Marzotto S.p.A. expanded through acquisitions. Marzotto became Europe's first fully integrated wool producer in 1987 after acquiringLanerossi,followed byHugo Bossin 1991 andCzechoslovakia’sNová Mosilanawool mill in 1994. In 1997, the group announced a merge withHPIto formGruppo Industriale Marzotto,the world's largest designer clothing manufacturer. However,Pietro Marzottoabruptly stopped negotiations, which led to Pietro's resignation of his function as chief executive and the take-over byJean de Jaeger,the first non-Marzotto to be promoted to such a function. Pietro nonetheless remained the majority shareholder of Marzotto S.p.A. and he purchasedLiteksas,aLithuanianwool garments manufacturer, in 2000, so that the company could shift part of its production to the lower-cost market. He also boughtValentino S.p.A.,which had been struggling underHPI,in 2002.

The development of the Marzotto group continued in 2009, acquiring the NTB Nuova Tessilbrenta brand, specialized in the production of cotton casual and sportswear; It also stipulates the collaboration agreement with the Schneider Group, an important and recognized player in the sector in the acquisition and combing of wool and noble fibers, which provides for the creation of a joint production company for the processing of wool, in which Marzotto participates with 30% shares, based in a new plant in Egypt. In October 2009, Marzotto acquired, together with Faber Five, a company owned by Antonio Favrin,66.7% of Ratti, one of the most important Como companies in the world of silk, founded in 1945 by Antonio Ratti.

In July 2018, Davide Favrin, a Management Engineering graduate and son of Antonio, the historical manager and shareholder of the company, first as CEO in 2002 and then as president since 2004,was appointed CEO, replacing Sergio Tamborini, at the head of the group since 2006.

Others

Marzotto supported the development of Valdagno, giving services to workers such as schools, hospitals, entertainment, and social facilities. In 1951, the Marzotto family established the Marzotto Prize, awarding people from medicine, modern sciences, poetry, journalism, theatre and painting.

External links

• Official website
• Marzottotreccani.it